9 months on, Ctg port’s container scanners lie uninstalled due to red tape

Four container scanners remain uninstalled at Chattogram Port, nine months after their import from China, due to red tape, including delays in site selection and budget shortages. 

This has allowed unscrupulous traders to exploit the situation for money laundering and other fraudulent activities.

Due to bureaucratic delays, officials say the scanners arrived in December 2023, three years after procurement began, and they are concerned that the nine-month storage period may affect their quality.

According to Chattogram Custom House, the installation was delayed due to complications related to the dollar crisis, political unrest from the anti-discrimination student movement, and the change of government.

After resolving these issues, installation has resumed, with infrastructure work nearing completion and visible progress expected by year-end.

Saidul Islam, spokesperson for Chattogram Customs, told The Business Standard, "There were some complications regarding site selection for the scanners, but they have now been resolved. It is hoped that the installation process will be completed by December."

According to data from Chattogram Port, it operates three terminals – the General Cargo Berth (GCB), Chattogram Container Terminal (CCT), and New Mooring Container Terminal (NCT), with a total of 12 gates providing access to these terminals.

The latest four scanners will be installed at the NCT-2, CCT-2, GCB-4, and GCB-5 gates, replacing the outdated scanners currently at CCT-2, GCB-4, and GCB-5. Meanwhile, infrastructure work is progressing at the NCT-2 gate for scanner installation.

However, two other scanner machines from the same Chinese company, brought in September 2023, were successfully installed in February of this year. The two scanners, purchased for Tk 85.89 crore, were installed at GCB Gate No 4 in February, bringing the total number of scanners at seven of the port's 12 gates to nine.

Industry insiders say a group is exploiting outdated scanners for fraud in import-export trade, involving goods like ready-made garments, food items, and agro-products. This includes embezzling crores in export cash incentives and laundering money, while importing liquor, cigarettes, and undeclared or prohibited goods. 

Khairul Alam Sujan, vice-president of the Freight Forwarder Association, emphasised the need for scanning all import containers, noting that not all gates are equipped with scanners, impacting the country's image.

According to data from the Chattogram Custom House, the process of procuring six container scanners began in 2021, with the National Board of Revenue (NBR) first inviting tenders in March of that year. However, due to various complications, including the Covid pandemic, the tender deadline was postponed four times.

An agreement for the purchase of the scanners was finally reached in January 2023, with Five-R-Associates securing the contract to supply four scanners manufactured by China's Nuctech Company. The total cost for installing six scanners was set at around Tk 147.96 crore.

Apelo Barua, manager of the Chattogram office of Five-R-Associates, told The Business Standard that one of the four scanners is currently being installed, with the remaining three to be phased in gradually, a process that will take time.

He added that installation at the New Mooring Container Terminal 2 began in August and is expected to be completed by October, after which the machine will become operational. Installing a scanner typically takes around three months, and the process of design drawing and soil testing is already underway for the scanners being replaced.

Barua anticipates the installation of all scanners will be completed by the end of the year.

Major Md Wahidul Haque, deputy director (Security/Operations) at the Chattogram Port Authority, told TBS that delays in scanner installation were due to indecision and complications on the customs side regarding the relocation of the replacement scanners. This contributed to the installation being postponed.

In February 2020, the port authority installed two fixed container scanners imported from China at the NCT-3 and GCB-1 gates of the port.