An unusual delay in carrying containers from Chittagong Port to Kamalapur ICD in Dhaka caused a revenue loss of more than Tk 325 crore in the immediate past fiscal year.

ICD earned Tk 1,277 crore in FY 2009-10 against the Tk 1,602 crore revenue target.

Exporters said the delay was also a matter of their concern because they could not maintain lead-time, which affected their relations with international buyers.

Kamalapur ICD-bound 1,548 TEU (twenty-foot equivalent unit) containers piled up at Chittagong Port, according to officials. The deadlock emerged since the present government came to power in early2009.

Inadequate equipment, special charges collected by Chittagong Port officials and a limited number of railway engines resulted in poor container transportation and handling, the officials concerned pointed out.

"Private operator Global Agro Trade (Private) Co Ltd (Gatco) took 48 to 72 hours to offload containers from a train instead of the scheduled 4 hours. This is because of Gatco's inadequate handling equipment. The unusual delay forces the railway to go behind the schedule," said Kamalapur ICD Joint Commissioner

Wahida Rahman Chowdhury.

She complained that several port officials charge importers an additional Tk 17,000-Tk 20,000 to get a CPA (Chitagong Port Authority) assignment, a pre-requisite to boarding a container from Chittagong Port to Kamalapur ICD.

Wahida said had these containers been carried and offloaded in time, the government could have surpassed the revenue target.

She pointed to the exceeding revenue target of FY 2008-09. In that fiscal year, the ICD customs cell earned Tk 1,450 crore, while the target was Tk 1,440

crore.

The arrival and departure of containers at Kamalapur ICD now have dropped below 90 TEU from over 120 TEU a day on aveage, which worries businesspeople.

Ahsan Ahmed, a garment accessory businessman and also an importer of resin, a raw material used in the plastic industry, said he incurred huge losses as three of his containers were stranded at Chittagong Port for about three months.

"I lost two buyers due to the unusual delay and I have made up my mind to use alternative way of transportation," he said.

Meanwhile, all efforts to improve the situation have turned futile, as the Kamalapur ICD top official complained. Wahida Rahman Chowdhury said any response from National Board of Revenue, CPA and Getco to her letters asking for a better situation is yet to be received.

When contacted, a high official of the Chittagong Port denied charging any additional amount to importers.

"If someone paid extra money to the port workers, it may not be termed as charges," the official said.

jasim@thedailystar.net