Port-users demand quick NMCT operation

Our Correspondent | Published: December 24, 2014 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2026 06:01:00

CHITTAGONG, Dec 23: Port-users on Tuesday said the New Mooring Container Terminal (NMCT) should be made fully operational without further delay.
The businesses are suffering a lot for failing to make timely shipment of their export cargo and get delivery of imported cargo.
The port-users raised the NMCT issue in the ninth meeting of the Chittagong Port Advisory Committee, held at Chittagong Port Authority (CPA) Training Institute, with Shipping Minister Shahjahan Khan in the chair.
The shipping minister said the government has decided to operate all five berths of the specialized container terminal in New Mooring, but its modality is yet to be finalized.
He said the government is actively considering the port-users' grievances, and he has directed CPA to take steps to mitigate all their problems with utmost priority.
The minister said CPA's activities have improved a lot over the last six years. The government has also taken steps to improve working conditions in all other ports, including the Pangaon Inland Container Terminal. A committee has been formed to run the terminal successfully.
Besides, committees have been formed to fix up the NMCT operation modality, and resume the Karnaphuli capital dredging work by removing legal obstacles.
Regarding allegations of Awami League leader ABM Mohiuddin Chowdhury that the port officials resorted to corruption by offering NMCT's cargo handling activities to a particular party without going through open tender, the minister said the allegations will be resolved through legal process.
But there are various other allegations, which have no ground at all, he added.
Former first vice-president of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) Nasir Uddin Chowdhury said CPA must make it clear today whether or not they have any roadmap to tackle the huge volume of cargo transaction, worth US$ 130 billion - $60 billion in export and $70 billion in import - in the next five to six years.
Md Shamsul Huq Chowdhury MP, MA Latif MP, Moinuddin Ahmed Khan Badal MP, Chittagong Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) president Mahbubul Alam, Bangladesh Inland Container Depot Association (BICDA) chairman Nurul Quayyum Khan, C&F Agents Association president Akhtar Hossain, Berth and Cargo Handling Operators Association chairman Fazley Ikram, CPA chairman and board members, and representatives of other port user bodies also spoke in the meeting.