The Pangaon Inland Container Terminal (PICT) authorities have moved to slash different port charges to attract users in a bid to activate the river port, officials said. The Chittagong Port Authority (CPA), the controlling authority of the PICT, has already sent a proposal to the finance ministry via the shipping ministry, seeking reduction of charges ranging from 30 per cent to 70 per cent. The move came amid a poor response from businesses and shippers regarding use of the port even after the government issued an order in December last making it mandatory for importers concerned to transport 20 per cent of imported raw cotton and capital machinery through the PICT. The order came into effect from February this year. It will be mandatory for importers to transport 40 per cent of imported raw cotton and capital machinery through the PICT after March. While visiting the port on March 22, this correspondent found that there was hardly any activity as no container-laden vessel was found at the port. The Pangaon container terminal was built at a cost of Tk 1.50 billion in Keraniganj off the city and inaugurated in November 2013 on the banks of the Buriganga river to ease traffic on the Dhaka-Chittagong highway. Ahamedul Karim Chowdhury, Terminal Manager, Pangaon ICT said, “The response from the importers is not satisfactory till now.” He expressed the hope that once the charges are reduced compared to rail and road transportation, it would help encourage shippers and traders to use the port. “We have come to know that the proposal for revising the tariff rates is now under consideration of the finance ministry”, he added. According to a circular issued by the shipping ministry on October 26, 2015, the freight rate for the Pangaon-Chittagong route for each 20-foot container is US$ 220 for loaded one and $110 for empty one. Previously, the rate for a loaded container was $150 and $75 for an empty one during the inauguration. In response to importers’ allegations regarding lack of feeders and time-consuming schedule, Mr. Karim said those who are alleging this don’t even check the port facilities; if they want to ship their imported goods in PICT, feeders and schedule are not a problem. Apart from tariff cut, the port will also provide free storage facility to the importers for 10 days, he added. Meanwhile, the Neepa Paribahan Ltd, a shipping line, will carry containers directly from the Krishnapatnam port of India to the PICT. Chief executive officer (CEO) Md. Sirajur Rahman said revised tariff will attract exporters and importers to use the river port if they find the cost lower than those of rail and highways. He said the PICT can make best use of the coastal shipping agreement between Bangladesh and India which was signed during Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Bangladesh in June 2015. “If the shipping lines can import raw cotton and export RMG products on the same vessel using this port with Singapore and Colombo within five to seven days, they will definitely come to operate their ships from the PICT regularly”, he added. Till now no export container was shipped from the Pangaon ICT while some 2,205 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) of import containers came from the Chittagong Port on 74 voyages. In 2013, seven ships arrived in the port while 17 came in 2014, 36 in 2015 and 14 in first three months of 2016. The terminal has a storage capacity of 3,500 TEUs of containers and can handle 116,000 TEUs annually. The capacity will gradually be raised to 160,000 TEUs. Talking about export possibilities through the port, the PICT terminal manager said potato exporters of Bangladesh can easily ship their products using the port as they mainly collect it from Munshiganj which is not far from Keraniganj though they lay main emphasis on readymade garments (RMG) export. Many multinational companies and shipping lines including British retailer Marks and Spencer, logistics provider Agility, furniture retailer IKEA, Sea Consortium, X-Press Feeder and Hapag-Lloyd have visited the terminal to see shipping facilities, he said. He said exporters and importers will enjoy one-stop service in the port as it has full customs house, bank, and user’s common room with internet facilities for C&F agents, shipping agents and other stake-holders. Of the total number of containers released from the Chittagong Port, 70 per cent travel to Dhaka and Narayanganj areas. Only 10 per cent of these containers come by rail while the rest are transported through road. From that point of view Pangaon port has huge potential if it can facilitate the businesses with lower cost than rail and highways. The Pangaon terminal was built on 64 acres of land belonging to the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) land in Keraniganj.
