Colombo-bound vessels will get priority berthing at the Chattogram port in a bid to ease a huge export backlog at private depots that worsened further on Monday.
The Chittagong Port Authority (CPA) in a hurriedly called meeting on Monday said most of the cargoes lying at off-docks were meant for the Port of Colombo.
CPA chairman Rear Admiral M Shajahan presided over the meeting held both in person and online in the CPA conference room with the attendance of all key stakeholders.
"Seventy per cent of the backlog is meant for Colombo, so we need to give priority berthing for Colombo bound vessels," said a meeting attendee, seeking anonymity.
The CPA also decided to give priority export loading for Colombo-bound vessels, he added.
The meeting noted that 50-per cent export cargoes lying backlogged at off-docks belong to the global shipping giant Maersk Line.
Maersk Line is the market leader in Bangladesh.
The CPA says it has been considering raising one more container berth in addition to the current 11 berths.
One more jetty will help ease the backlog at the port, it believes.
In the meantime, export backlog at the depots has deteriorated further.
As of Monday, a total of 15,533 TEU (twenty-foot equivalent unit) export cargoes remained stockpiled at different off-docks, up 801 TEUs from Sunday's.
The depots usually have a backlog of around 6,000 TEUs during normal period.
This backlog is due to a lack of pre-assigned feeder vessels at the port. The feeder links cargoes with mother vessels to reach the USA and Europe.
There are a total of 19 off-docks in Chattogram. But only 17 are in operation with an aggregate storing capacity of 77,700 TEUs.
