Container handling at Chittagong Port increased by just over 9% in the last three months (August to October), compared to the same period last year, according to Chittagong Port Authority (CPA) Chairman Rear Admiral SM Moniruzzaman.

The country's main seaport handled 8,30,582 TEUs ("Twenty-foot Equivalent Unit", a unit of measurement used to describe the dimensions of cargo containers) during the said period, which was 76,986 TEUs more than the same period last year - an increase of 9.016%, the CPA chairman said while speaking at a press briefing held at Shaheed Mohammad Fazlur Rahman Munshi Auditorium on Tuesday.

The total for the year stands at 10.22% higher than the same period last year, he further informed.

Referring to reducing ship waiting times, he said “On July 16, Chittagong Port had a container backlog of 45,500 containers, occupying about 85% of its total capacity."

Over the last three months, systematic innovations have reduced this to 34,000, he said.

The average waiting time for ships has dropped from 6–8 days to just one day. Ships are now receiving on-arrival berthing at the port, he added.

The opening of a new route with Karachi has ushered in a new era for Bangladesh’s import and export trade which brings dynamism in bilateral trade between the two countries, he said.

For the first time, a ship under HR Shipping Line arrived in Chattogram from Karachi Port with 328 containers on November 11 via liner service which departed Chattogram after unloading the containers on the following day, he said.

The vessel began its journey from Jebel Ali Port in Dubai and made a stopover at Karachi and then arrived in Chattogram, he added.

CPA members, including Habibur Rahman (Administration and Planning), Commodore M Fazlur Rahman (Harbour and Marine), Shahidul Alam (Finance) and Commodore Kawsar Rashid (Engineering) and senior officials were present at the press briefing.