Dhaka ICD reaches its storage limit

The number of containers at Kamalapur Inland Container Depot (ICD) has almost reached the storage limit owing to the slow delivery of boxes during the ongoing coronavirus-induced lockdown, officials said.
Presently, some 4,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) of containers are lying at the ICD in the city against its total storage capacity of 4,267 TEUs.
Of the total, 2,440 TEUs are fully loaded containers, 14 TEUs are outbound containers, and 1,526 TEUs are empty containers.
According to ICD officials, during the lockdown only around 150 TEUs are delivered from the depot per day - this number is around 40 per cent lower compared to the normal period.
The despatch of outbound containers from Kamalapur ICD to Chittagong also went down significantly, they said.
According to the statistics of Wednesday last, only 61 TEUs of containers by only one train was despatched from the ICD in the previous 24 hours.
At the same time, only 60 TEUs were despatched towards the Chittagong port.
Deputy Traffic Manager at Kamalapur ICD Ahamedul Karim Chowdhury told the FE that the delivery of containers had become very slow due to the various obstacles created during the lockdown.
Now, nearly 60 per cent containers are being delivered form the depot compared to the containers delivered in the usual time, he said.
Citing the reasons, Mr Chowdhury said all factories were not running in full swing during the lockdown.
Besides, the shopping malls and roadside shops also remain closed during this period, lowering the demand for goods, he said.
Mainly industrial raw materials and consumer goods are carried through the Kamalapur ICD.
"The number of containers at the depot has increased significantly but not in an alarming position," he said, while replying to a query.
In the prolonged lockdown period last year, the depot had to store some 5,000 TEUs of containers, much higher than its storing capacity, as factories remained closed over two months.

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