Ctg port authority calls for more railway wagons to ease container gridlock at depots

The Chittagong Port Authority has urged railway authorities to increase the number of engines and wagons to avoid gridlock at the inland container depots of Chattogram Port before Eid-ul-Fitr.

In a letter to the general manager of Railway Eastern Region on 8 April, the port authority said around 1,049 TEUS containers are located in the ICD yard of Chattogram Port while 500 others awaiting berthing on board the ICD at the outer anchorage.

Storing more containers is not possible due to the limited storage capacity of ICD yards, the letter noted.

The letter also mentioned there is a possibility of an increase in the number of Dhaka-bound imported containers on the occasion of Eid-ul-Fitr.

"If the containers are not sent to Dhaka ICD at the earliest, there is a possibility of creating a container jam at the port that may contribute to price hike of products.

So, the port authority called for increasing the number of railway engines and wagons capable of transporting at least 200 TEUS containers daily.

Currently, three freight trains bound for Dhaka's Kamalapur ICD leave Chattogram Port every day. With each train carrying 62 TEU containers, a total of 186 TEUs of goods are transported daily.