Developing Chittagong Port

The projection made by a foreign port-consulting firm about the rise in container traffic at the Chittagong Port over the next 15 years is sure to produce a mixed feeling. From the just concluded fiscal year's 1.8 million twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEUs) of containers, the volume will witness a rise to 5.1 million TEUs in the year 2030. This is heart-warming because the three-fold increase in container traffic is closely related to the country's business and its overall economy. In the process both are going to receive a shot in the arm. But at the same time, a disquieting feeling is likely to cast a shadow because of the shorter time span under consideration. Why a master plan envisioning the future need for only 15 years from now has been drawn is rather incomprehensible. Better it would be if the premier port's handling capacity by the 2050 or even beyond would have been taken into consideration under the development plan.
It has been dubbed a port-development blueprint. Although the master plan projects that container traffic will go up to 5.4 million TEUs by the year 2040, there is no urgency to make preparation for the increased traffic load by that time. The bottom line is to plan for strategic development of Chittagong Port with an eye on the country's trade expansion and regional or sub-regional trade through connectivity. This latest master plan prepared by a German consulting firm and financed by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) has found all the development plans chalked out so far outdated. Those plans ignored recent upgrades on maritime and landside infrastructure. Even the improved efficiency effected through the recently introduced container terminal management system was out of reckoning, let alone the opening of the port to transit traffic.
Clearly, new realities have emerged by the time and gone are the days for the piecemeal solutions. Planned development of the port under a comprehensive master plan or blueprint keeping in view the future need of the country for the next century were the demand of the time. This master plan is likely to prove inadequate when the country will get promoted to the higher middle-income category. Particularly, the immense potential of sub-regional or regional trade through connectivity has remained a neglected issue. Regional countries, quite a few of them land-locked, are interested to take advantage of port facilities at Chittagong.          
So the possibility of the port remaining unused if and when it increases its load handling capacity several times more can be ruled out. The seven sisters, as the north eastern territories of India are termed, Nepal, Bhutan and even China will benefit if the port services are offered to them. The income coming from such services will be quite handsome. The port has improved its efficiency in handling containers but still there is scope for further improvement. The time spent at a port of call has been drastically reduced globally. This has not been the case for Chittagong Port as yet. There is problem of berthing of space and ships have to wait longer than is necessary at the outer anchorage. Introduction of feeder barges may somewhat ease the problem. So the option for new technology has to be kept open in order to go by the time.