Chattogram Port Authority
‘Berthing delay’ at Chattogram Port ‘irks’ steelmakers
Bangladesh’s steel manufacturers have long been experiencing serious problems as the Chattogram Port Authority (CPA) is reportedly taking more time than usual in allowing them to unload their imported raw materials.
President of Bangladesh Steel Manufacturers Association (BSMA) Monwar Hossain in a letter to the CPA chairman on March 3 raised the issue expressing their grave concerns over it and demanded separate jetties for unloading their imported scraps, according to official sources.
He mentioned that the unusual delay in berthing the raw material-carrying ships made the situation horrible for their business.
“The mills are not getting adequate supply of raw materials to continue their production while the importers have to pay huge demurrage to shipping authorities for the excessive berthing delay,” he said in the letter.
“As a result, the price of raw materials for the steel-manufacturing industries is rising,” he added.
Also read: Realty sector hit as short supply pushes steel prices up
According to the BSMA, 58 vessels arrived at Chattogram port with about 1.328 million metric tons of scraps from September 2020 to February 2021 but each vessel had to face excessive delay in unloading the goods -- even up to 26 days.
Providing the statistics, the BSMA said the number of scrap-carrying ships is substantially rising, but the importers have to count huge costs due to the lack of adequate GI-berthing facilities at the port.
Maintenance dredging work underway at Payra port
Work to maintain a depth of 6.3 meters in the Rabnabad Channel of Payra Port was launched by the Chattogram Port Authority on Saturday.
Ships docking at Ctg Port declined by 2pc due to Covid in 2020
The Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent suspension of export and import for several months caused a 2 percent drop in the number of ships docking at Chattogram Port in 2020 compared to the previous calendar of 2019.