Bangladesh Ports & Facilities

Mongla Port in Kuhlna Division(Bangladesh's Second Largest Seaport)

Mongla Port the second largest seaport located 48 km south of Khulna town. The port was developed initially about 18 km up at Chalna, which was opened to foreign vessels as an anchorage on 11 December 1950. The anchorage was shifted to Mongla in 1954 as the place could accommodate sea-going vessels with greater draughts. The port of Mongla had long retained its name Chalna. Mongla is situated on the confluence of the rivers pasur and Mongla at mouza Selabunia of rampal upazila of bagerhat district. During the Pakistan period, the administration of the port was under a port director, whose main office was at Khulna.The port has trade links with almost all major ports of the world, although vessels arriving here are mostly from ports of Asia, the Middle East, Australia, Europe and North America and the ships rarely come to Mongla from the countries of Latin America or Africa. In addition to promotion of imports and exports of the country, the port contributes to development of many industries and trading houses in surrounding places and along with this, of new infrastructures and job opportunities. Many local people are working in the port directly in loading and unloading vessels.

Minor Ports

Barisal River Port



Sadarghat Port, Dhaka

Bangladesh plans deep-sea port in Bay of Bengal
[26 May, 2006 l 1021 hrs ISTlIANS]

DHAKA: Bangladesh is planning to set up a deep-sea port in the Bay of Bengal with the hope of servicing trade with Nepal, Myanmar, Bhutan and India's seven north-eastern states.

The precise location of the port has not been identified, the project being still at a preliminary stage.

A Japanese firm, Pacific Consultant International, has been given the contract for preparing a feasibility report on the project's technical and economic viability.

The cabinet committee on purchase cleared the contract worth taka 140 million ($2.33 million), The Daily Star newspaper reported.

This is the second time the same company has been given the contract for the same purpose, the newspaper said, but gave no details.

Bangladesh does not have a deep-sea port. Chittagong, the principal port, and Khulna and Mangla are all river ports.

Sources in the shipping ministry said a deep-sea port would help Bangladesh service the entire north-eastern region.

Such a port could also be of military use to the Bangladesh Navy. Strategically, a deep-sea port could also help China enter South Asia. China has helped design and build the Gwadar port in Pakistan's Balochistan province.

The purchase committee approved another shipping ministry proposal for the appointment of a consulting firm for the computerisation of the container terminal management system and management information system at Chittagong Port.

Deep sea port to be built without foreign assistance: Shipping Minister
SANGSAD BHABAN, Feb 9 (BSS) - Shipping Minister Akbar Hossain today told the Jatiya Sangsad that the country's first deep sea port would be built without any foreign assistance.

"Although huge sum of money to the tune of Taka 4,000 crore to Taka 5,000 crore will be needed to build the proposed deep- sea port, the present government will arrange the money from its own resources," the minister said while responding to a call attention notice on matters of urgent public interest brought by Major (Retd) Manzur Kader (Sirajganj).

The minister expressed the hope that the present government, during its tenure, would be able to lay the foundation of the much- needed and economically important deep sea port at a suitable place in the county.

He told the House that Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia has already constituted an 8-member high powered committee headed by the shipping minister to take necessary steps for building the crucially important deep sea port.

He further informed the House that the high-powered committee held its first meeting on January 8 and took a decision unanimously to float international tender for carrying out feasibility studies on the project.


Outlining the government plans for construction of the deep-sea port, Akbar said a private company would be floated where foreign investors may also join. If necessary, money would be realized through security exchange, he said. The scheme was under the disposal of the Planning Commission,he added.

In his notice Major Manjur Kader highlighted the importance of a deep-sea port in the country to boost its export import business.

He said such a port may act as the "Mother Port," for not only Bangladesh but for the region as a whole. If constructed it may be regarded as the gateway to this region like Hong Kong.

tanzirian said:

^^ They will have to come up reliable way of protecting such a port from cyclones and the like. I always thought of Chittagong as a sea port. Yeah it's on the Karnafuli but just a couple of miles inland. But then again I'm no expert on what kind of limitations this places on shipping.

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Can't they just build a seaport directly at the sea and link it to chittagong with a proper highway. And wouldnt it be better anyways if the seaport was a few kilometres outside of the city since a seaport is quite industrial anyways. If they jus tbuild a highway like the airport road in Dhaka then I am pretty sure it wouldn't be a problem.

Main jetty area of Chittagong Port seen at the center of this pic:

Businesses now can use SMS to find containers at Chittagong Container Terminal

5/5/2007

Importers and exporters will now need only 30 seconds instead of previous 2-3 days to locate a container at the Chittagong Container Terminal (CCT), thanks to a short messaging service (SMS) introduced Friday, reports UNB.SAIF Powertec Limited, the first private sector operator of CCT, announced the launching of the SMS for prompt locating of containers at the port yard, said a company announcement.
The service has been introduced as part of yard planning programme, a standard practice in international seaports to orderly arrange containers on the yard and drastically cut container searching time and optimise utilisation of the yard.
To locate containers, importers and exporters will have to go to message option in their mobile phones and type 'Saif container number' and then send to 7464 for grameenphone and to 7890 for Aktel, Banglalink, CityCell and Teletalk. The answer will come in 30 seconds.
"The SMS service is the primary step towards complete automation of the container terminal. The importers can now find their containers and take delivery of the cargo in the quickest possible time," SAIF Powertec Managing Director T Md R Amin said on the occasion.
SAIF Powertec took over the management of CCT early March this year as part of the Chittagong Port Authority's private sector involvement initiative in the port management to improve its service.
SAIF Powertec operates four gantry cranes at the CCT. The company executives claimed they would be able to discharge a ship in 24 hours at the CCT.
The managers of the private operator work 24 hours a day to quickly discharge ships at the container terminal. The move has helped drastically cut ship turnaround time at the port expediting export and import activities.
Before SAIF Powertec took over the CCT management, feeder vessels had to wait in queue at the outer anchorage for at least 7-15 days for lack of berthing space at the terminal.
Ships now directly enter the channel for berthing as accelerated container handling leads to easy availability of berthing space at the CCT. Previously, 10-15 ships had to wait in queue at the outer anchorage before entering the channel. But now ships do not need to wait at the outer anchorage.
"The pace in container handling at the terminal has now become on par with other regional seaports," Amin said, adding that the businesses are now benefiting from the improvement of port services with drastically reduced cost of ship operations, port charges and other expenses.
"The benefit will also reach the end users in the long run," he said.

http://www.financialexpress-bd.com/index3.asp?cnd=5/5/2007&section_id=1&newsid=60205&spcl=no

Sonadia best place for deep-sea port
Finds Japanese firm's survey

A Japanese consultant firm in its first phase survey report submitted to the Ministry of Shipping yesterday recommended Sonadia Island in Cox's Bazar district as the most suitable place for setting up a deep-sea port in the country.

Tk 42,000 crore would be spent for the port to be completed in three phases by the year 2055.

The Japanese firm, Pacific Consultant International, also made a presentation about the findings of the site selection survey.

Kutubdia Channel in the same district was mentioned as the second most suitable place in the recommendations for the multi-billion dollar port

The Sonadia Island, located between Cox's Bazar town and Moheshkhali Island in the Bay of Bengal, is isolated from the mainland by a river and it could be connected with bridges and tunnels, and road and railway lines could also be established for cargo carrying, the report said.

There will be hardly any need to evict people as the place is now almost a barren land where only a few thousand fishermen go to live during peak season of fishing in the sea.

The deep-sea port will have 58 jetties with a total of 11-kilometre length.

The shipping ministry has formed a ten-member committee to examine the Japanese firm's report and finalise the recommendation in next 15 days. The committee includes representatives from the private sector.

The recommendations would be sent to the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs for final approval, sources said.

After getting final approval from the government, the same firm will be asked to make a second phase survey before beginning the physical construction work of the port. In the second phase, the company will present in details about all the requirements for the port.

Shipping Adviser MA Matin, high officials of the ministry, Cabinet Secretary Ali Imam Majumder, ERD Secretary M Aminul Islam Bhuiyan, Planning Secretary Jafar Ahmed Chowdhury, Shipping Secretary Sheikh Enayetullah and Chairman of Securities and Exchange Commission Faruq Ahmed Siddiqui were present during yesterday's presentation by the Japanese firm.

The shipping adviser told the journalists that the government would appeal to the World Bank and Asian Development Bank for arranging the fund for the port.

The Japanese firm, appointed in August last year for conducting a techno-economic feasibility study for setting up a deep-sea port in the country, will get Tk 14 crore for completing the study within a year.

The company conducted survey on nine places in the coastal belt of Bangladesh.

Of those, the names Patenga, Kutubdia point and Middle Island were dropped after preliminary examination and detailed survey was conducted at six places -- Kutubdia Channel, Sonadia Island, Moheshkhali Channel, Elephant point, Saint Martin Island, and Akram point in Khulna.

In the first phase, the company submitted four other reports of the study for the port -- inception report, port plan report, port administration model report, and marketing and business administration report.

http://www.thedailystar.net/2007/05/10/d7051001096.htm

Zaki said:

2055?!?!? what the hell, why would it take so long? Especially in a country where labour is cheap. Half a century to make a port?? Thats ridiculous. We need one in the next 5 years, not 50. I must be missing something. Can someone explain what this means exactly.

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it will be done in phases for obvious reasons. Bangladesh government cannot afford to build anything this large in 5/10 years. I am sure 1st phase will be completed in 10 years and then so on and so forth.

Zaki said:

2055?!?!? what the hell, why would it take so long? Especially in a country where labour is cheap. Half a century to make a port?? Thats ridiculous. We need one in the next 5 years, not 50. I must be missing something. Can someone explain what this means exactly.

Click to expand...

Is this a typo or those people are really saint? 50 years are too much man.....

I think also we cannot ignore the dangers posed by global warming related sea level rise. Most experts believe that over the course of the next century the sea level will rise about 1 m. That is enough to sink the coastal islands, a large chunk of Khulna division, as well as pretty much the whole of Barisal division. Personally I would prefer investment toward turning Chittagong into a state-of-the-art facility, rather than pouring a vast amount of resources to create a port on land that might not be there in a few decades. Although some areas bordering the ocean in Chittagong will also be affected by the water level rising, in general the rapid elevation changes in this area will spare almost the whole division (except islands) from this change.

Chittagong Port suddenly turns dynamic
Performance goes up by 30pc, business cost reduces by 40pc

Following the promulgation of the state of emergency in January this year, the efficiency of the premier port Chittagong increased 30 percent and the cost of running business there reduced by 40 percent, a recent study revealed.

The turn-around time of ships at the port reduced to 4.48 days in the month of April whereas it was 11.65 days in January this year. The number of vessels handled per month at the port also increased to 86 in April from 70 in January last. The number of ships handled in January 2006 was 60.

The amount of cargo handled also increased to 83,245 TEUs (twenty equivalent units) in April from 76,213 in January last.

The customs' processing of export-import documents also ran at a quick pace to keep up with the goods handling at the port. The Chittagong Port customs officials claimed that over 98 percent documents have been assessed so far within the time frame and only two percent remains pending due to various reasons.

The business community expressed satisfaction over the progress made by the joint forces in stopping corruption, illegal toll and bringing discipline back in cargo handling.

Immediately after deployment of army personnel in order to aid the civil administration in January this year, a taskforce under the joint forces took initiative and got involved in the port activities, according to sources.

The taskforce held a series of meetings with all stake holders and rounded up corrupt labour leaders, port officials and other criminals who were obstacles to smooth operations of the port.

A number of private operators were also appointed to manage the terminal and handle cargo quickly as part of the reform programme and gradually the port's activities improved.

The business community and port users started getting the benefit of the actions taken by the joint forces and demanded continuation of the reforms and the system to be made permanent so that the premier port never went back to the previous dismal condition after changes in the national politics.
Earlier the premier port was a headache for the nation for long as it was termed one of the most insecure, inefficient and costliest ports of the world.

It is going to be a model for other sectors to follow as the long congestion of the ships and containers were untangled with three-months' effort, the sources said.

At the moment, there is no ship congestion at the port. Sometimes 5-8 berths remain empty due to lack of ships. Most ships enter the Karnaphuli channel without wasting any time waiting at the outer anchorage. In the month of January this year, the average waiting time of ships at the outer anchorage was over 14 days.

A medium-sized ship's per day cost of waiting is around $10,000-15,000. Sometimes ships wait at the outer anchorage due to technical reasons like low tide.

"We are happy and every sensible person should be happy not only because the corruption has been stopped but also for the port as it is moving towards maintaining a proper system," said MA Latif, senior vice president of Chittagong Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI).

Due to the bad image of the port abroad, the local business community has to pay at least 20-22 percent higher freight charges than other ports of similar distant, he pointed out.

Latif said the port got a bad name as political parties used the port as a tool to make their demands heard. "We want relief from the anarchy created in the name of a democratic movement," he said.

Referring to the politicians, Latif further added that they have their democratic rights for a political movement but they do not have any right to create panic in order to realise their demands.

There should be a law made so that people who lost properties and suffered due to these political movements could be compensated, he stated.

"The port has gone through a revolutionary change in the last three months and we are moving in the right direction," said Mahbub Ali, chairman of Bangladesh Shippers Council--a platform for exporters.

He said it would take more time to make everything all right but whatever changes took place in last three months were never thought possible.

"We want the present condition to continue," he said, adding, "This is high time to give the message to the politicians that the port should remain above politics for the sake of this nation."

According to sources, the port situation started improving after the appointment of Saif Powertec to undertake an integrated operation at the exclusive container jetty, Chittagong Container Terminal (CCT).

Earlier, the company operated four sophisticated gantry cranes at the CCT. Operations at the CCT were done by various groups and each group had different jobs. As a result, the pace of container handling suffered.

The number of ships handled a month doubled at the CCT after all the groups' operations were integrated. A total of 31 container ships were handled at the CCT in April this year whereas 15 ships were handled in December last year.

Nine imported items are now taken directly off docks from ships helping a long way in reducing container congestion. The items are rice, wheat, beans, mastered, chickpeas, scraps, wet paper, cotton and poultry feed.

More than 1,000 trucks and over 2,000 labourers used to get inside the port to handle these goods creating traffic congestions inside the port.

The container keeping capacity at the port jetty was increased to 22,000 TUEs from 12,000 TEUs a few months ago by expanding the yard area. The space increased as the yard of newly constructed New Mooring Container Terminal (NCT) was added to the available space.

The port authority hoped the capacity would be increased to 30,000 TEUs by July this year when the park yard and under construction yard inside the port become available.

Earlier, lunch, dinner and prayer time used to be long in Chittagong port. The authorities enforced a duty roster at each station where the name of an employee and the duration of his or her duty time were mentioned. The duty officer goes on inspections to ensure that the right man is at right place at the right time.

The authorities also opened two complaint cells at the terminal building and at the girls' school to respond to complaints. This worked well as problems could be addressed faster, a source said.

The joint forces also took an initiative to stop power cuts inside the port. The Power Development Board (PDB) connected the port jetty with the national power grid and no disruption of power occurred at the terminal in the last three months.

http://www.thedailystar.net/2007/05/11/d7051101011.htm

CCT sets record in container handling
Private operator hopes to make Chittagong port as dynamic as Singapore

SAIF Powertec Limited, the private operator of Chittagong Container Terminal (CCT), Tuesday said that it expected to make Chittagong port as dynamic as Singapore Port by next month.

"It'll be possible to make Chittagong port as dynamic and service-oriented as Singapore Port within July this year," Saif Powertec managing director T. MD. R. Amin said.

He expressed the hope as the company set a new record of handling 1138 TEUs containers in only 15 hours Monday, said a press release.

The private port operator made the record loading and unloading containers from Eagle Progress, a ship came from Singapore. During the period, a total of 150 containers were unloaded and 988 loaded.

Earlier, Saif Powertec set a record handling the highest number of containers on a single day.

"Saif Powertec is going to introduce computer networking service at CCT to give Chittagong port the speed and performance as in Singapore Port," Amin said, adding that CCT and Newmooring Container Terminal (NCT) have been more dynamic than ever.

The private operator has expanded SMS service, earlier introduced at CCT to locate containers, up to NCT.

The operator employed 400 skilled manpower, including 30 foreign nationals, in its endeavour to make the port more efficient.

http://www.financialexpress-bd.com/index3.asp?cnd=6/6/2007&section_id=1&newsid=63339&spcl=no

Construction of Pangaon container terminal in progress

The construction of the internal container river terminal at Pangaon in Keraniganj area in the city is in progress, reports BSS.

The terminal is being constructed for facilitating transportation of containers offloaded at Chittagong and Mongla ports through the waterways in the country, an official handout said.

The filling of 60 acres at an estimated cost of Taka 115 crore at the project site has already been completed.

It is expected that the project, jointly taken up by Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) and Chittagong Port Authority (CPA), would be completed within June 2009.

Water Transport Adviser Major General (Retd) MA Matin today visited the site at Keraniganj to see the progress of the project.

The Adviser was told that the work on the project is being implemented under six packages and tenders have already been offered as part of the packages.

After implementation, it would be possible to handle 116,000 TEUS containers in a year at the terminal in an area of 60 acres.

Another 16 acres of land has been reserved for handling extended containers at the terminal, which would raise the handling capacity to 2 lakh containers annually, the handout said.

About 70 percent containers offloaded at the Chittagong Port are being transported towards the city increases pressure on Kamlapur ICD.

After implementation of the project, it would be possible to transport containers from Chittagong through waterways.

The Adviser said the Pangaon container terminal would play an important role in the present perspective. He urged all concerned to implement the project within the specified time.

http://www.bangladeshjournal.com/article/Business/150/