Slow deliveries during Eid holidays create container backlog at Ctg port
Officials say it may take a few more days for deliveries to fully normalise
Although port operations remained active during the extended Eid-ul-Fitr holidays, a slowdown in deliveries led to the accumulation of nearly 11,000 additional import containers in just 10 days, creating a congestion at the Chattogram port.
According to Chattogram Port data, the port yard had 30,043 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) of containers on 26 March, which rose to 40,948 TEUs by 5 April.
Officials say it may take a few more days for deliveries to fully normalise.
Meanwhile, the situation at the inland container depots (ICDs) in Chattogram has gradually returned to normal, even though the number of export containers had doubled in around two weeks before the holidays.
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Decline in container delivery
According to port officials, although the Chattogram port has a storage capacity of 53,518 TEUs, the optimal yard occupancy to maintain smooth operations is considered to be between 30,000 and 35,000 TEUs. The current situation has exceeded that limit by nearly 5,000 TEUs.
As per the government announcement, there was a nine-day Eid holiday from 28 March to 5 April. During this period, manpower was deployed to keep the port operational, bank booths remained open, and activities continued across port departments. However, port officials say traders largely refrained from taking container deliveries.
According to Chattogram port data, under normal circumstances, an average of 3,500 to 5,000 TEUs are delivered daily. But from 26 March to 5 April, the delivery rate dropped significantly.
Port data shows that although 4,182 TEUs were delivered on 28 March, the first day of the Eid holidays, deliveries gradually declined to 2,976 TEUs on 29 March and 1,753 TEUs on 30 March. On 31 March, the day, only 809 TEUs were delivered, and on 1 April, there were no deliveries.
Container deliveries began to pick up from 2 April, with 691 TEUs delivered, followed by 544 TEUs on 3 April, 1,100 TEUs on 4 April, and 1,397 TEUs on 5 April.
Chattogram Port Authority Secretary Md Omar Faruk said that although port operations were suspended from 8am to 4pm on Eid day, the port remained operational at all other times.
"Necessary preparations for container delivery were also in place. However, as importers refrained from taking deliveries, the port yard became congested with containers," he said.
He added that the container backlog is expected to ease within a few days.
Explaining the slowdown in deliveries during the Eid holidays, Bangladesh Shipping Agents Association Vice Chairman Shafiqul Alam Jewel said, "Although the Chattogram port remained fully operational during the Eid holidays, customs activities did not. To truly benefit from keeping the port open, all related agencies must remain operational. A policy-level decision is needed to ensure uninterrupted import and export activities."
Export cargo handling at ICDs returns to normal
Meanwhile, although export activities at Chattogram's 19 inland container depots (ICDs) faced pressure ahead of the Eid holidays, the situation has gradually returned to normal.
According to the Bangladesh Inland Container Depots Association (Bicda), there were 7,759 TEUs of export containers at the ICDs as of 15 March. By 29 March, the number had risen to 14,516 TEUs. As of 4 April, the figure had decreased to 8,662 TEUs.
As of 4 April, the ICDs were also handling 7,006 TEUs of import containers, according to the BICDA.
Bicda Secretary General Ruhul Amin Sikder said that ahead of Eid, garment exporters rushed to send goods scheduled for shipment after the holidays to the ICDs. As a result, the number of export containers at the ICDs exceeded 14,000 TEUs, significantly disrupting normal operations.
However, with the volume of incoming export cargo declining during the Eid holidays, export handling activities at the ICDs have now returned to normal.
The 19 ICDs in Chattogram have a combined export container capacity of 10,000 TEUs. Under normal circumstances, they usually handle between 6,000 and 7,000 TEUs of export containers, with about 2,200 to 2,300 TEUs loaded onto vessels daily.
Chattogram's 19 private ICDs, also known as off-docks, handle around 95% of the country's export shipments and 38 types of import goods.
