Ctg port operators for 20-25% hike

Private operators of Chittagong Port have demanded a 20-25 per cent increase in handling charges due to the rise in fuel price.

Under the public procurement rules, operators are appointed for different operational works, including berth operation, terminal operation and ship handling for a maximum period of five years to run the port.

The operators have recently sent a letter to increase their charges, Chittagong Port Secretary Mohammad Omar Faruq said. In the letter they demanded the increase due to an increase in fuel oil, he said.

“We have just received their letter, it will now be forwarded to the department concerned to check whether any action is required in this regard,” he said.

At present, Chittagong Port has one terminal operator and 12 berth operators. Among them, some operators are in the process of being renewed or re-appointed and are serving under the previous terms of appointments.

All 12 berth operators were appointed for three years in 2017. Six of them in General Cargo Birth (GCB) were re-appointed for a period of five years in 2021.

The rest six operators in Container Cargo Operations work based on the previous contract signed in 2017.

According to the port sources, berth operators offer a total of eight types of activities. Their service is based on one-time contract.

Fazle Karim Chowdhury, President of Terminal Operators, Berth Operators, and Ship Handling Operators Owners Association said: “Almost all the operational activities we do inside the port depend on fuel oil.”

This year, due to a two-fold increase in fuel prices, expenses have also increased a lot. “In view of this, we have written to the port to increase the charges.”

The port’s sole private terminal operator Saif Powertec Ltd, which handles Chittagong Container Terminal CCT and Newmooring Container Terminal NCT, is also demanding an increase in its charges.

Saif Powertech handles 60 percent of the total 3.2 million units of containers handled at the port annually.

Captain Mohammad Tanvir, Director (operations) at Saif Powertech, says: “The contract we have with the port for container handling does not suit us now.”

According to the port sources, as the appointment of operators is based on the PPR of the government, it has to decide on the increase in charges of operators within that law.

Increasing the charges of operators mean, the port will have to collect more money from users for the port’s services.

The Private Inland Container Depots (ICD), a major part of the port operations, which are completing the pre-shipment process of 100 percent of export goods and the post-shipment process of 23 percent of imported goods have increased charges by 25-31 percent.

However, an initiative to increase the port’s overall tariff is currently underway, including the services provided by the operators.