The Mongla Port, the country's second largest seaport, has started getting a face-lift as the government has undertaken a string of projects to make it operationally vibrant.
The development works have ushered in a new hope for the port that earned a profit of about Tk 481 million in the just concluded fiscal (2013-14) as against Tk 439.5 million in the previous fiscal registering a growth of 9.42 per cent in revenue earnings.
The port, which was almost on the verge of being abandoned mainly due to navigability problems, handled a total of 345 ships and 43,007 TEUs (20-foot equivalent unit) of containers in the last fiscal, as against 282 ships in the previous fiscal. The number of ships that visited the port was only 95 in the fiscal 2007-8.
The situation has improved substantially in recent days due to undertaking of about 12 development projects and works at a cost of Tk 5.51 billion over the last few years to make the port operational. The works included procurement of cutter suction dredgers, navigational aids and dredging of the Pushur river and harbour channels.
Because of the initiatives, arrival and departure of ships at the Mongla port have also increased substantially and at the same time, the port's capacity to handle export and import cargoes also was enhanced to a great extent.
According to sources, the port handled about 3.544 million tonnes of cargo last fiscal as against only 0.723 million tonnes just a few years ago (2007-8). The consignments included 3.4 million tonnes of import cargoes and 0.142 million tonnes of export cargoes.
A meeting of the Mongla Port Authority with its stakeholders was told that more projects are underway, completion of which will allow ships with more drafts to enter its jetties.
Presided over by Commodore Habibur Rahman Bhuiyan, chairman of the Mongla Port Authority (MPA), the meeting was attended by representatives of various stakeholders including the Jute Mills Association, the Jute Exporters' Association, the Frozen Food Exporters Association and the Bangladesh Leather and Leather Goods Exporters Association.
At present, the seaport is facing navigability problems for which ships with nine-metre draft cannot enter its jetties. If these problems can be addressed, the revenue from the port can be increased manifold, said many of the stakeholders.
Experts feel that Bangladesh can earn huge amount of revenue by enhancing connectivity facilities, and introducing automation at the Mongla port.
"Although goods and containers are handled by heavy equipment including cranes and forklifts in Chittagong port, most of the consignments at the Mongla port are handled manually, especially in case of loading and unloading containers," said Barik Khan, secretary of the Bangladesh Jute Mills Association (BJMA), demanding modernisation of the seaport as early as possible.
Stakeholders, who attended the meeting, also complained about shortage of containers, lack of automation and proper infrastructures which, they said, are discouraging the port users.
Very often, they said, goods are kept under open skies because of lack of sheds at port premises.
At present, the port authority is implementing a project worth about Tk 1.06 billion for dredging the Pashur channel of the Mongla port.
"When completed ships with 7.5 draught will be able to enter the port without any hindrance," said port sources adding that about 75 per cent of the work has already been completed.
Another project of capital and conservation dredging worth about Tk 1.78 billion in the outer bar and harbour area of the Mongla port at the Mooring area is awaiting approval. If completed, ships with 9 metre draught will take berth in the port.
The port authority has also undertaken a project titled 'Navigational aids to Mongla port' at a cost of Tk. 875.6 million to procure various instruments like mounted mobile cranes, rail mounted/ portal cranes, heavy duty forklift truck to help load and unload of consignments,
"To assist the movement of sea-going vessels in the channel, the port authority has installed 62 buoys, two beacons, six light towers with lanterns and anchors," said a port documentation. One crane boat, house boat, floater pipe and an acuter suction dredger were collected to retain the impact of dredging.
If the projects are completed accordingly with proper development of road infrastructures, sources said, the port can emerge as a regional port serving Nepal, Bhutan and India.
Located at the confluence of the Pussur and the Mongla rivers, the port lies about 100 km north of the Bay of Bengal and is connected to the major inland river ports and to the rail terminal at Khulna.
Along with the Kolkata and the Haldia ports in India, Mongla and Chittagong in Bangladesh are the principal seaports in the Ganges delta.
The port has trade links with almost all major ports of the world, although vessels arriving there are mostly from Asia, the Middle East, Australia, Europe and North America. Ships rarely come to Mongla port from the countries of Latin America or Africa.
The port's main exports include jute, leather, tobacco, frozen fish and shrimps, while major imports include grains, cement, fertilisers, coal and wood pulp.
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