The privately owned BM Container Depot has partially resumed operations 78 days following the explosion of June 4.
Following conditional permission from the Customs Authority, the depot authorities began loading, unloading, and storing empty containers on Monday, said Captain (retd) Mainul Ahsan Khan, general manager of BM Container Depot.
"Our operations began on Monday after receiving permission from customs on the 22nd of this month. Lifting and storage of empty containers is now permitted," he said.
However, there has been no decision regarding import and export approval.
According to customs sources, the permission letter signed by Chittagong Customs Deputy Commissioner Nur Uddin Milan included two conditions.
The depot authorities will have to submit clearance certificates from the Department of Environment (DoE), the Department of Explosives, and Bangladesh Fire Service and Civil Defence within 15 days of receiving the permission.
A compromise agreement should be reached with any nearby firefighting office or fire station within the same time frame.
In this regard, Md Nur Uddin Milan, deputy commissioner of Chittagong Customs, said: "After the accident, its operations were closed for a long time."
The BM Container Depot, a joint venture company owned by the Netherlands and Bangladesh, is located in Sitakunda's Bhatiari area. The Smart Group in Bangladesh owns it. The group's chairman Mustafizur Rahman is the depot's managing director. Md Mujibur Rahman, his younger brother, is the director.
A devastating fire and subsequent blasts at the BM Container Depot at Sitakunda left 49 people dead and over 200 injured on June 4.
At least 10 of the deceased were firefighters.
