[🇧🇩] Sea Ports/Air Ports/River Ports/Bridges/Mega Projects

[Bilal9]

Dhaka Hazrat Shahjalal Int'l Airport has been upgraded to ILS Cat. II from Category I. This will allow automated landings in low visibility (foggy) conditions. Video talks about the background and context of the upgrade. Of note - the three other major airports (Sylhet, Chittagong, Jessore) will also be upgraded to ILS Cat. II soon.

 

[Saif]

Container handling at Ctg port rises 10% in Aug-Oct

There has been a significant year-on-year rise in the number of containers handled at Chattogram port in the three months till October while there was a drop in the overall handling of cargo and ships.

www.thedailystar.net

Container handling at Ctg port rises 10% in Aug-Oct

There has been a significant year-on-year rise in the number of containers handled at Chattogram port in the three months till October while there was a drop in the overall handling of cargo and ships.

The port handled a total of 8.30 lakh TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) of containers, both goods-laden ones and empty, between August and October.

This is 10.21 percent higher than the 7.54 lakh TEUs handled in the same period last year.

Of the 8.30 lakh TEUs, 4.50 lakh TEUs had arrived, while the rest were destined to go abroad.

According to Chittagong Port Authority (CPA), the data was a compilation of the number of containers handled at the port's jetties, Kamalapur Inland Container Depot in Dhaka and Pangaon Inland Container Terminal in Keraniganj.

The port users opined that a significant number of containers that could not be moved for political turmoil since mid-July were transported later, and thus the volume increased in subsequent months.

A container congestion arose at the port yards due to the political unrest, said Muntasir Rubayat, head of operations at GBX Logistics, a leading feeder vessel operating firm.

This caused delays in the unloading and loading of cargo and led to the formation of a long queue of vessels, he told The Daily Star.

Many export-laden containers could not be brought to the port from factories and private inland container depots (ICD) due to disruptions in vehicular movement on the Dhaka-Chattogram highway, he said.

As the situation slowly improved, it was possible to bring these to the port in the following weeks and thus there was a gradual increase in the flux of containers and vessels in the following months.

Port data shows that container throughput rose at the port and Kamalapur ICD in August and September.

In terms of the overall handling of cargo, including containerised and bulk cargo, the port saw a 5.18 percent year-on-year decrease in the three months.

A total of 2.91 crore tonnes of cargo were handled through the port's jetties and outer anchorage from August to October.

It was over 3.07 crore tonnes in the same period last year.

There was a decrease in the import of cargo in bulk in August and September, said Syed Md Arif, president of Bangladesh Shipping Agents Association.

This is due to the fact that importers who made small-scale purchases were finding it hard to open letters of credit for a crisis of US dollars, he said.

Even those who usually make large-scale purchases imported goods in small quantities and for this, they hired comparatively small-sized bulk carriers.

There was an increase in the number of bulk carriers that had arrived in September and October, Arif added.

A total of 966 vessels arrived in the last three months, whereas it was 1,023 in the same period last year.​

 

[Bilal9]

Nice view of Bhairab inland river port and the three bridges (two rail and one road bridge) there, Plans are almost being finalized to upgrade this port to a container handling dock situation of international standard. I am certain that the road and rail logistics (already existing as seen below) will be integrated with this new port. The current port dates from time immemorial using old wooden cargo ships but nowadays 6000~8000 tons lighterage ships are the norm for equipment.

Once upgraded - Bhairab can act as an Inland Container terminal - just like the first one (Pangaon) set up about fifteen years ago, Pangaon Inland Container Terminal (PICT) is in Keraniganj and handles 116,000 TEUs annually.

Here are some smaller Inland container carrier ships (about 150~200 TEUs capacity for each) servicing PICT. Inland riverine container logistics is rapidly growing in Bangladesh and cost is a lot lower than either rail container through Kamalapur ICD or by container semi-truck. Needless to say all ships were built in Bangladeshi yards.

 

[Bilal9]

Chinese and other freight carriers are a far more common sight at Dhaka Int'l Airport now, even compared to a year ago. Air shipping is expensive, but for higher grade apparel (time sensitive too) it well justifies the heightened cost.



More Cargo carriers and a rarity - the US Bangla A330 returning to base.

 

[Saif]

China back for Mongla seaport dev works

China is set to come back for Mongla seaport development as Bangladesh's current interim government may allow Chinese investment in a Tk 40.68-billion project for the upgrade. The Mongla Port Authority has recently sought approval for the China-funded project, insiders said Friday about resumption

thefinancialexpress.com.bd

China back for Mongla seaport dev works
FHM Humayan Kabir
Published :
Nov 30, 2024 08:14
Updated :
Nov 30, 2024 08:14

China is set to come back for Mongla seaport development as Bangladesh's current interim government may allow Chinese investment in a Tk 40.68-billion project for the upgrade.

The Mongla Port Authority has recently sought approval for the China-funded project, insiders said Friday about resumption of the once-stalled bid.

Earlier, the project was put on hold by the deposed Sheikh Hasina government allegedly on "geopolitical considerations" in September last year.

In 2020, the past government allowed Indian financial support for a separate project on upgrading the Mongla seaport, now gaining prominence with major communications-infrastructure developments done by China in the region.

The Mongla Port Authority (MPA) under the Shipping Ministry has been implementing the Tk 60.15 billion project since 2020 for upgrading the port with part financing of Tk 44.59 billion from Indian loan.

A senior Planning Commission (PC) official said the MPA recently sought approval for Tk 40.68 billion as cost of 'Expansion and Modernization of Mongla Port Facility Project' where China has proposed to provide Tk 35.93 billion (nearly US$335.78 million) in loan.

Meanwhile, the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC), headed by the then prime minister, had sent back the project proposal in September 2023. The ECNEC recommended a further review of the project.

"The MPA has recently sent the project proposal again by recasting the previous one. Now, the Port Authority is seeking approval," said the PC official.

He says since Bangladesh's political spectrum has changed after takeover by the new interim government in August last, the stalled China-funded Mongla Port development project is getting back in gear.

"We are reviewing and scrutinising the project. If we find necessary for the country, will recommend it for ECNEC approval," he adds.

A Shipping Ministry official said the Chinese authority has recently articulated interest in the integrated approach for construction, implementation, maintenance and management of the project.

Shipping Ministry officials has said China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) is the officially designated contractor of China to implement the project.

The MPA signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the CCECC authority on August 24, 2021 and the latter submitted its financial bid and technical proposal on January 28, 2023.

Expansion and Modernisation of Mongla Port Facility project was listed among the 27 development projects that China pledged to fund by signing an umbrella deal back in 2016 during President Xi Jinping's visit to Dhaka.

The project comprises construction of two container jetties with a length of 368 meters each, 87,600-square-meter loaded-container yard, 34,170-square-meter empty-container yard, and 4,260-square-meter hazardous cargo-handling yard.

Moreover, four gantry cranes, seven rubber-tyred gantry cranes, and 33 other pieces of equipment related to jetties will be bought under the project.

The two new jetties will enhance Mongla seaport's container-handling capacity by 394,000 twenty-foot-equivalent units (TEUs) per annum.

Following construction of many mega-infrastructures, particularly in Bangladesh's southern part--especially the Padma Bridge--the Mongla seaport's importance has increased manifold with vistas of opportunities in trade and connectivity opening up.

It has now become nearest seaport to the capital, Dhaka, and recently many international shipping lines have shown interest in plying to the port.

"A good number of garment exporters have also started shipping their goods through the port, as its distance with the capital is 100-kilometre shorter than those from other ports," one MPA official says.

The entire western part of Bangladesh and its adjoining areas are considered hinterland, having a unique opportunity to play vital role in the arena of international and regional trade and economy, Bangladeshi officials told their Chinese counterparts regarding the importance of the project.

In unlocking its potential the Mongla seaport recently registered a record in terms of ship arrivals, cargo handling, and revenue earning.

In 2020, the port saw a turnout of 970 ships--the highest in its 70-year history. It earned a profit of Tk 1.30 billion from the limited-scale port operations.​