Jamaluddin slates CPA's decision to ban entry of new vessels
20 Nov '06
2 min read
Jamaluddin Quader Chowdhury, CEO, QC Container Line Limited, has opined that Chittagong Port (CP) is an important asset contributing to Bangladesh's economy, hence no one is free to obstruct its activities. He says it is their moral responsibility to keep CP functioning.
Chittagong Port Authority (CPA) recently declared that it will prevent entry of new vessels to CP, because the port is much congested which makes it impossible to handle any vessel. Jamaluddin condemned this move by CPA.
He said CPA should make proper laws if they want to prohibit entry of vessels. Although CPA says it is unable to handle a vessel more than 170 meters long, they are occasionally found giving entry to more than 183 meter long vessels.
He added that port rules should be applicable to all people without discrimination and that users of CP will suffer heavy losses as congestion has reached its maximum. He said ship owners had applied a surcharge owing to excessive congestion.
But BGMEA has filed a petition in court against the move of applying surcharge. Jamaluddin argued that BGMEA earns foreign currency and gets various incentives from Government, but companies like QC don't get any incentives.
He said chores of managing the vessels at CP will rise automatically due to growth in imports and exports. Hence it is essential for appropriate infrastructure to be built at CP to manage additional loads.
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