The delivery of import containers at Chittagong port has been disrupted by the blockades and shutdowns over the past month, causing congestion at Bangladesh’s largest harbor.  The blockades and shutdowns have been caused by continual countrywide political strikes through the end of 2013.

Although police have moved to make the transportation of goods safe on the highways, the delivery of imports from the port has not picked up, according to the Daily Star of Dhaka.

Some 27,041 containers piled up at different yards, using up 87.5 per cent of the port’s container storage capacity, according to the traffic department of the Chittagong Port Authority (CPA).

Some 23,767 import containers were stored at the port, surpassing its capacity to accommodate up to 23,375 boxes. Port users said the pile-ups were building. Daily delivery from the port dropped to 600-800 containers in two days of blockages, compared to a normal 2,000-container daily delivery rate.

Deliveries have improved slightly since the beginning of last week, rising to 1,500 boxes, as police activity intensified to ensure safe transport of containers.  Police Superintendent AKM Hafiz Akhter said district police and the highway patrols had beefed up security on the roads and escorted several thousand trucks to and from Chittagong Port. Port and shipping lines officials said other port activities such as vessel handling and loading and unloading were not affected.  “The situation is under control,” said CPA secretary Syed Farhad Uddin. 

With that being said, there is still little  movement of containers.  Our partners in Bangladesh admit that this will cause huge pressure in upcoming weeks.  The airports will also continue to have mass amounts of traffic jams.

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