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6 years ago

Urgency of reducing port deficiency  

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Some very pertinent questions have arisen out of  an evaluation  of how the Chittagong port had   fared in the outgoing year. They spell out lessons for the on-going year. But is there any end to the learning curve in regard to an overly familiar issue which could only breed contempt by recurrence? Hence, perhaps, we  need to go beyond 'learning'   given our uncanny genius to unlearn  as soon as we are  finished with them--verbally! We have to act on the problem-specific recipe of the  last year's stocktaking for a direly needed  turn-around. No mistaking that!

A prominent Bangla daily  headlined on January 20, "A year of deficiency costs TK 1195 crore" whilst referring to the twin  lighter ship-jetty crisis at Chittagong port. This, we assume, implied a plea made to all concerned for a resolute remedial action to avert a similar port dysfunction  in 2018.

True, Chittagong port has some structural deficiencies like dependence on outer anchorage far out into the sea, shortage of jetties jutting out closer   to the ships to call at the port. The ships have to dock 16 km away  into  high seas and those without containers have to be off-loaded through lighter ships.  Yet, how much of the port's nagging underperformance is man-made and how much of it is infrastructural? This will have to be ascertained in the first place in order that an unambiguous  problem- solving  approach can be adopted.  Factors like habitually   shorter man-hours,   poor decision-making or lack of timely intervention on the part of the authority in matching the already increasing and, of course, the projected  loads on the port.

It cannot be lost on any observer of the scenario that   port functions/dysfunctions tend to  express themselves in    measureable  terms of  lost hours, days and foreign exchange drained away in compensation payments. Besides, there's an inherently   important consideration to bear in mind which is that of vastly improving   port functions  to maintain  reasonable competitiveness in relation to other ports of the region. This is for our own sake, but add to it the expressed wish of some sub-regional countries to have access to our ports.  

Last year, some 743 ships were stationed/stranded in the port ten days more than the stipulated time span. As per the contract with a foreign shipping company, a ship  on  entering maritime waters of  Chittagong port, has to be cleared of   commodities at the rate of 3,000 tonnes per day on  an average. If the lighter ships fail to download within the stipulated time, depending on the category of  ship, the importer has to pay between 10 and 16 thousand dollars as compensation for each day of delay incurred.

Important port users argue that with the amount of  foreign exchange we are draining away through lack of jetties we could have  built two-three new terminals every year. Another business group rued that the money that the importers are having to cough up in compensation for the delay  would have enabled purchase of 250 new lighter ships a year!

The process  of  off-loading and clearance of goods  is   pretty long;  the  hauling of the merchandise from the ship through cranes on to the lighter ship is the first crucial  step. This   then would be followed up by the lighter ships  berthing along 39 inland ports including those in  Chittagong, Dhaka and Narayangong to be emptied out.

The bottom line is it can lose all the way because  any dislocation in the chain in terms of keeping to a time-line at the start will have disruptive effect all along the process. This will not only increase the  unease and cost of doing business, at the end of the day , the brunt will also  be passed on to the consumers who will have to pay higher prices for no fault of their own.

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