CTMS in Ctg Port Oct 10: Minister

Our Correspondent CHITTAGONG, Oct 5: Automation of Chittagong Port's container movement and terminal management finally goes into trial operation on October 10, about two months later than scheduled. Shipping Minister Shajahan Khan Wednesday said the Container Terminal Management System (CTMS) in Chittagong Port will be launched next Monday. Khan made the disclosure at a meeting of the workers and employees, organised by the Chittagong Port CBA at the Port Stadium. Chittagong Port Employees' Association convened the meeting to express its gratitude to the government for meeting their long standing demands regarding enhancement of allowances of the port workers and employees. The CTMS was initially scheduled to be launched on August 14. But it was deferred to September 11 and then to mid-October. Local ready-made garments (RMG) exporters claimed that their export might face disruption following the launching of CTMS without adequate preparedness on their part. The RMG exporters asked the Chittagong Port Authority (CPA) to defer the date of launching the CTMS, as they are concerned of facing problems in complying with the cut-off time during the trial-run of the automation system. The minister said negotiation with the leaders of BGMEA (Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association) and BKMEA (Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association) was going on, and they will be further consulted in a day or two, so that the CTMS launching is no more delayed. The CTMS will be launched at the CCT (Chittagong Container Terminal) and NCT (New Mooring Container Terminal), the two specialised container terminals, on October 10, and at the six container jetties of general cargo berths on October 12. In his address the minister further said the process of inviting final tender for selecting private operators for the NCT has been completed, and the tender will be floated very soon. The government has also started dredging of the country's 37,000 kilometres of river routes for increasing navigability, he added. Presided over by CBA president Montaz Uddin Ahmed, the meeting was addressed by Shipping Secretary Abdul Mannan Hawladar, former Chittagong City Corporation mayor A B M Mohiuddin Chowdhury, CPA acting chairman Nazrul Islam, and Port CBA secretary Wahidullah Sarkar.