Marketing team formed to make Pangaon functional

The Chittagong Port Authority (CPA) has formed a marketing team in an attempt to make the Pangaon terminal in Dhaka operational.
The terminal built at a cost of Tk 1.54 billion at Keraniganj area, near Dhaka, was inaugurated in November last but it has remained almost non-functional since then.
Port users said the latest move by the authorities will not bring any meaningful outcome, saying consignees will use the terminal if they consider the terminal suitable for them.
They alleged that the CPA kept the main line operators, which conduct around 70 per cent of container business with Bangladesh, out of the committee.
However, the marketing team members will keep regular contacts with the companies involved in export and import trade as well as main line operators to ensure maximum utilisation of the terminal.
Currently, almost cent per cent consignees use the Chittagong port as the destination point. Only a small number of consignees mainly the importers of electronics and foods in Dhaka use the Kamalapur Inland Container Depot as point of destination.
A senior official at the CPA told the FE the marketing team members will also take move to motivate the business firms to help make the terminal functional.
The team will also make recommendations to the CPA after the opinions made by the consignees and people.
The CPA has formed eight-member team comprising representatives from the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI), Shippers' Council, Bangladesh Shipping Agents Association, Bangladesh Freight Forwarders Association, Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association and Dhaka Customs Agents Association.
The terminal manager at the Pangaon Terminal Md Sarwar will work as the convenor of the Committee.
Sources said the CPA has so far taken a number of steps to operationalise the terminal, which brought no positive outcome.
The three vessels-Pangaon Express, Pangaon Success and Pangaon Vision-imported by the CPA for the route now remained idle at the Sadarghat area in Chittagong.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the Pangaon Inland Container Terminal on the bank of Buriganga River at Pangaon in South Keraniganj in November last.
Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) and the CPA jointly built the terminal at a cost of Tk1.54bn.
The terminal is aimed at helping to ease the pressure of cargo movement on the Dhaka-Chittagong railway and highway corridors.