25pc incentives for Pangaon ICT users Move to make the terminal operational

The government has decided to provide 25 per cent incentives, in the form of reduced freight, to users of the Pangaon ICT (Inland Container Terminal) in a bid to make the newly-built infrastructure operational, sources say.
The ministry of shipping (MoS) has taken the decision as the terminal had been remaining virtually non-operational for over six months after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina formally inaugurated it on November 07, 2013.
The decision came as importers and exporters show reluctance to use the terminal, built aiming to reduce congestions at the Chittagong port and pressure of vehicles on the Dhaka-Chittagong highway.      
Only 388 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) of containers were handled so far by the ICT, located at Keraniganj off Dhaka city.
"We have decided to provide incentives to exporters and importers for use of the terminal for carrying containers to and from the Chittagong port. The incentives will encourage them and make the ICT operational," a senior MoS official told the FE.
He said businessmen based in Dhaka and Narayanganj were expected to feel encouraged to use the terminal thanks to the incentives offered.
The official also said steps would be taken to deliver at least 50 per cent containers of raw cotton and capital machinery through the Pangaon ICT to increase the use of the terminal.
Necessary lands will be offered to build the office of the customs agents' association in the ICT area so that shipping agents and freight forwarders can carry out activities on the terminal premises facilitating handling of export and import containers, according to sources.    
Importers and exporters have been citing various complications as reasons behind the non-functioning of the terminal despite carrying containers by waterways being much cheaper than by road.
So, the government moved to address the problems and encourage use of the terminal, said another MoS official.
The first vessel came to the terminal from the Chittagong port nearly one month after the inauguration following hectic persuasion from the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) and the MoS. Since then no vessel came to or left the terminal due to the dearth of outbound cargoes.
Some traders said they were less interested to use the terminal as carrying goods to and from the Chittagong port to the ICT takes much longer time compared to carrying those by road.
A container-laden vessel from the Chittagong port needs 1.5 days to reach the ICT while a container truck needs only eight hours from Dhaka to reach the prime seaport.
They said high speed vessels had to be procured for the ICT to reduce the time. They also said the number of vessels had to be increased so that containers could reach timely the Chittagong port for loading feeder vessels before their heading for mother vessels.
Vice President of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) Shahidullah Azim told the FE earlier that there were still some procedural complexities discourageing exporters to use the terminal.
"If you want to use the ICT, you will have to carry goods from the factory to Pangaon. Then you need to stockpile those in godowns. Then again you are to load the vessels and unload those in the Chittagong port. Then you will have to load those in feeder vessels heading towards the mother vessels. The whole process will cause a long delay," he said.
Mr Azim said the exporters were still opting for transportation of their goods by road instead of the slower river route. He said making Pangaon operational with adequate cargoes would take some more time.