A large container vessel having a draught of 10 metres and length of 200 metres will anchor at the Chittagong Port for the first time on trial basis on Sunday, according to Chattogram port officials. Enhancement of the port’s berthing capabilities will increase its container handling capacity, reduce transport costs and turnaround times- the time required for loading and unloading of goods at the port, they said. The port authorities have completed all kinds of preparations including increasing the depth of the Karnaphuli River estuary and skills development training of the operators. According to the port authorities, vessels having only 9.5 metres draught and 195 metres length have been anchored at the port jetty since 2015. However, after receiving a positive response from the survey of UK-based consultancy firm 'HR Wallingford', the port took the initiative to handle larger vessels. The 10-metre draught ships will be able to carry 3,500 TEUs containers to the port and bring down the overall cargo handling costs. Chief Hydrographer of Chittagong port authority Commander Arifur Rahman, said in view of the report provided by the research institute, the large vessels' berthing trial run will begin on Sunday. "If it becomes successful in this trial operation, the port will soon notify local and global shipping companies to operate bigger vessels on this route. Later, we will allow berthing when big ships arrive, added the commander" Also Read: Freight operation from Ctg suspended as lighter vessel workers on strike With the development, Chattogram port will notify shipping companies for allowing ships with bigger draught on this route, said Khairul Alam Suzan, vice-president of the Bangladesh Freight Forwarders Association. Bigger ships will reduce the cost of import-export significantly and huge money will be saved annually, he said. Having the capacity to handle larger vessels  is essential for expanding trade, he said adding people involved sector and export-import trade have long been demanding an increase in the berthing capacity of the Chattogram port but the port authorities did not do it without a proper survey, he added.    

Dhaka Mass Transit Company Ltd on Friday put a train of six metro rail coaches on a trial run on Diya Bari-Mirpur route. MAN Siddique, managing director of Dhaka Mass Transit Company Ltd, told UNB that they put six couches on a trial run from Diya Bari to Mirpur in the morning to check the track from Uttara to Agargaon. Read: Dhaka’s first-ever metro rail set to start by December 2022, says project chief He said the company will put the same set of coaches again on the track on August 29 for reassessing their performances. Bangladesh’s long wait for its first-ever metro rail is going to be over by December 2022 as work on the project has gained momentum despite disruptions by the coronavirus pandemic. Four sets of trains -- each comprising six air-conditioned coaches -- have already reached Bangladesh from Japan and five more sets are scheduled to arrive by September next. Read: Bangladesh Braces to Finish Dhaka Metro Rail Project There will be a total of 144 coaches for the 24 train sets that will run on a 21km-route from Uttara to Kamalapur Railway Station via Agargaon, Farmgate, Dhaka University campus and Motijheel. There will be a total of 17 stations, according to project documents.

The goods laden ship ‘MV Sejuti’ from India, has arrived at the outer anchorage of Chattogram port here on Tuesday.