Container handling to see 25pc growth this year
Wednesday, 11 May 2011
Our Correspondent
CHITTAGONG, May 10: The Chittagong port saw a massive growth of container handling as it topped the container volume of the last fiscal year with two months of the current fiscal left. A senior port official said the prime maritime port of the country had handled 12, 31, 331 TEUs (twenty equivalent unit) container until April 30 last against 12, 12, 652 TEUs in the 2009-10 fiscal year. The port this year is likely to handle over 1.5 million TEU containers with the expected growth by 25 per cent this year over the last fiscal year, sources said. The volume of bulk cargo handling this year will also top that of last fiscal year as the trend of cargo handling shows, sources added. Meanwhile, much to the expectation of the importers and exporters of the country the CPA has temporarily withdrawn the penal rent on empty containers, which was imposed to ease out congestion in the container yards. It is likely to come into effect from tomorrow or the day after, CPA sources said. The authority imposed the penal rent in the face of unusual overstay of empty containers in the port that created obstruction to the port's operational activity. The rent for a container in the port is US$ 6.00. After imposition of the penal rent the shipping businesses have to count US$ 24 for each container (twenty equivalent unit). It resulted in unusual expenditure for the ships calling at the port. CPA Chairman Commodore M Anwarul Islam has said that the CPA has decided to lift the penal rent and will shortly issue a memo in this connection. He said the port yard can accommodate up to 3000 empty containers for smooth operational activity but the same reached 3226 TEUs today (Tuesday) while they declined to 2607 Monday. "We have decided to withdraw the penal rent on empty containers considering problems faced by the importers, exporters and the MLOs (main line operators)," he told the FE today.
CHITTAGONG, May 10: The Chittagong port saw a massive growth of container handling as it topped the container volume of the last fiscal year with two months of the current fiscal left. A senior port official said the prime maritime port of the country had handled 12, 31, 331 TEUs (twenty equivalent unit) container until April 30 last against 12, 12, 652 TEUs in the 2009-10 fiscal year. The port this year is likely to handle over 1.5 million TEU containers with the expected growth by 25 per cent this year over the last fiscal year, sources said. The volume of bulk cargo handling this year will also top that of last fiscal year as the trend of cargo handling shows, sources added. Meanwhile, much to the expectation of the importers and exporters of the country the CPA has temporarily withdrawn the penal rent on empty containers, which was imposed to ease out congestion in the container yards. It is likely to come into effect from tomorrow or the day after, CPA sources said. The authority imposed the penal rent in the face of unusual overstay of empty containers in the port that created obstruction to the port's operational activity. The rent for a container in the port is US$ 6.00. After imposition of the penal rent the shipping businesses have to count US$ 24 for each container (twenty equivalent unit). It resulted in unusual expenditure for the ships calling at the port. CPA Chairman Commodore M Anwarul Islam has said that the CPA has decided to lift the penal rent and will shortly issue a memo in this connection. He said the port yard can accommodate up to 3000 empty containers for smooth operational activity but the same reached 3226 TEUs today (Tuesday) while they declined to 2607 Monday. "We have decided to withdraw the penal rent on empty containers considering problems faced by the importers, exporters and the MLOs (main line operators)," he told the FE today.