The handling of imported goods by private Inland Container Depots (ICDs) fell sharply, nearly 32 per cent, in the last six years, jeopardising returns on investment in these establishments.
Each of the ICDs had to invest not less than Tk 3.0 billion starting from acquiring land to installation of goods handling machinery and other infrastructures.
However, the investors of the private ICDs or off-docks have found their capacities for years remained underutilised for not allowing them to handle all import goods.
Only 38 import items or 18-20 per cent of all imported goods are allowed to get released from the off-docks in Chattogram sea port. All of the export goods are shipped through the off-docks.
However, 10-12 per cent of the allowed import goods are being released through the off-docks taking the benefit of the dual-delivery system.
Though the off-docks can help reduce the congestion in the country's prime sea port, several factors like higher charges, dual delivery system, etc. have been pointed out as the reasons behind underutilisation of the ICDs.
Recently, the customs wing has started reviewing the bottlenecks on the release of imported goods and its way out.
Customs (Export and bond) wing's Member Md Moazzem Hossain recently held a meeting to assess the existing imported goods release situation in the off-docks.
Talking to the FE, Mr Hossain said there must be a way out on how the government can make the ICDs vibrant by reducing its charges.
"Ultimately, all import and export goods would have to be released from the ICDs as per international best practice," he added.
The NBR would hold another meeting with other stakeholders including exporters, importers and investors of ICDs soon, he added.
Abul Kasem Khan, former president of the Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) and also an investor of an ICD, said the costs would come down gradually if the investors get the chance to provide services for releasing all import items from the ports.
"The ICDs are extensions of the port to ease its pressure. But restrictions in handling import goods jeopardise the goal and cause loss of its investors," he added.
A total of Tk 2.50 billion investment would be required for AK Khan Group's ICD, except for the cost of its land, he added.
In 2017, the off-docks handled 318,393 TEUs containers of imported goods that declined to 216,537 TUEs in 2023, 101,856 TEUs less, ICD sources said.
Currently, ICDs are handling 20,000 containers per month against their capacity of 35,000 containers.
Industry insiders, however, pointed out higher charges, insufficient spaces and lack of advanced loading and unloading facilities in the ICDs.
Importers are compelled to take dual delivery on a container of goods both from port and off-docks due to the existing scattered system, resulting in delays in release of goods.
Also, some of the off-docks are located in quite distant places from the port, hindering fast delivery of goods.
Meeting sources said the investors have proposed to fix a ceiling on volume of import goods to be handled by the ICDs.
Many of the allowed import goods are being released from the port instead of ICDs, resulting in congestion in the Chittagong port.
In the meeting, the Chittagong Port Authority (CPA) suggested scrapping the provision of dual-delivery after December 31, 2024 to reduce port congestion.
The customs wing also has decided to request the Shipping Ministry's tariff committee to take urgent decision on tariff rationalization in off-docks as per Private ICD Policy-2016, section 11 considering its distance and other benefits.
The CPA would intensify its monitoring in the off-docks while the customs would work on inclusion of some new import items for the off-docks.
The Custom House Chittagong has formed a three-member committee to monitor the customs-related activities of off-docks and give quarterly reports.
The Bangladesh Inland Container Depot Association (BICDA) Secretary General Ruhul Amin Sikder said the import goods in other countries are cleared from the dry ports or off-docks, except Bangladesh.
Initially, the cost of goods release might go up, but it would decline gradually after availing the fast and efficient services, he added.
"When all imported goods would be released from the ICDs on a mandatory basis, freight and other costs would come down," he added.
Currently, there are 21 ICDs set up on 350.18 acres of land in the Chittagong port areas.
For handling export goods, the total area of the specialised warehouse, container freight station and CFS, is 3.1 million square feet.
The ICD investors have increased their handling capacities over the years and provide 24 hours services to forward export goods.
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