News Report Chittagong Port (CP) is clogged up with empty containers, causing serious problem in maintaining the normal port services. The lower export compared to the import has been the major cause for piling up the empty containers. During the month of July, 2015 export volume was US$2625.93 million, which was US$ 2982.74 million during the same period of last fiscal. On the other hand, import figure for the month of July, 2015 was around US$3926 million. Chittagong Port has a capacity of providing space for 5000 containers. But on Wednesday last there were around 10 thousand containers at the port. Beside that another 45 thousand empty containers remained outside the port at a private container depot, according to the sources. At the port and the private depot the imported products are discharged by opening the containers. After that the empty containers are usually used for exporting goods. Now there is a big gap between the exportable and importable items, resulting in huge pile up of the empty containers. Chittagong Port chairman Rear Admiral Nizamuddin Ahmed admitted the presence of large number of empty containers at the port. He said no where in the world goods carrying in the container are discharged by opening on the port premises, but Bangladesh is following such unprecedented option in clearing the imported goods. The higher import compared to the lower export has also made the situation complicated, the CP chairman said. He said that the CP has reached an agreement with the local agents for shipping 2 thousand empty containers per week. It will ease the situation to some extent. He also said that the CP management has undertaken a plan for developing container yards on the 35 acres of land in phases. In the first phase a container yard would be developed at a cost of Tk 90 million.
