Chittagong Port has resumed normal operations after nearly a month of disruptions caused by the student-led protests against the Sheikh Hasina government.
Over the past week, a record number of containers have been processed daily, alleviating concerns about potential congestion at the port.
Chittagong Port Secretary Md Omar Faruq commented: "The political unrest and internet disruptions led to a significant drop in container deliveries. Although we managed to maintain the flow of goods aboard vessels, the non-delivery of containers posed a serious challenge. However, in the last week, container deliveries have surged, and operations can now be considered normal. All activities within the port have fully stabilized."
According to port officials, the daily delivery of containers has ranged between 3,500 to 4,000 TEUs over the past week.
This includes import cargo containers, empty containers, and export cargo containers being loaded onto ships.
Chittagong Port has a container storage capacity of 53,518 TEUs.
Until the first week of August, container deliveries had come to a standstill due to the agitation for quota reforms in government jobs in July, followed by the student protests.
Imposing curfews and internet blackouts severely disrupted customs clearance processes, which in turn affected container movements from the port.
By the first week of August, container volumes at the port had exceeded 45,000 TEUs, leading to severe congestion.
Following the fall of the Awami League government on August 5, an interim government took charge, and Rear Admiral SM Moniruzzaman was appointed as the new chairman of Chittagong Port.
Since then, port activities have picked up speed.
The resumption of customs clearance operations and the normalization of highway traffic have contributed to the increased volume of goods being delivered from the port.
Additionally, port officials have been working with heightened focus on expediting all activities, including the swift delivery of containers.
On August 13, the port saw a record 5,100 TEUs of containers delivered in a single day.
Since then, daily deliveries have consistently ranged between 3,500 to 4,000 TEUs.
As of Monday (August 19), the port was storing 39,908 TEUs of containers, down from 40,865 TEUs the previous day. The port’s capacity is 53,518 TEUs.
Port Secretary Md Omar Faruq said: "Typically, the port holds 34,000 to 35,000 containers. Even if the number rises to 40,000, it’s manageable because we have the capacity for over 53,000 containers. Given the current pace of deliveries, there is no risk of congestion. A week ago, there were 44,000 containers in the yard; that number has now dropped to 39,000. This indicates that port operations have indeed returned to smooth functioning."
