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Download PDF The first day of taking over the charge of Chittagong Container Terminal (CCT) operation by private company Saif Powertec observed disturbance in goods delivery due to ‘non-cooperation’ of the Chittagong Port Authority (CPA) operators.
Power failure also added to the disturbance in the loading and unloading activities, sources said.
As the operation of the CCT was brought under an integrated service, the charge to handle the container up to the delivery point was handed over to the private company that started operation of the terminal from early morning yesterday.
Visiting the terminal yesterday afternoon, this correspondent found that several hundred clearing and forwarding (C & F) agents had gathered at the jetty to get delivery of goods while a number of rubber tire gantry (RTG) cranes and straddle carriers — two vital equipment for moving containers up to the delivery yard — stood idle.
Only two of the eight RTG at the terminal were operative.
By yesterday afternoon, Saif Powertec unloaded over 200 containers from the Pacific Express that was carrying 428 containers.
The operators of those RTG cranes left the terminal much earlier abandoning the container movement activities, the agents said.
Although the CPA operators were supposed to operate those cranes until arrival of the Saif Powertec’s own operators, they are not doing the job and the delivery of goods is being hampered, Saif Powertec officials told The Daily Star.
Several C & F agents said their containers arrived in the morning but they are yet to know when they would get delivery of the goods whereas earlier they used to get delivery within a few hours of arrival.
“I have prepared all the papers and documents regarding my consignments but I cannot bring the containers up to the delivery yard for customs checking,” said AKM Fakhrul Islam, a C & F agent.
“The C & F agents are moving door to door for getting delivery of the urgent import consignment. The port officials are sending us to Saif Powertec whereas the Saif Powertec officials cannot say anything about my container,” he said.
“In my consignment, there are some important raw materials for manufacturing garments items. If I do not get the delivery today my factory would be affected,” said another agent.
The agents blamed the private company for taking over the charge before getting fully prepared with skilled manpower.
Later, as a team of joint forces arrived at the scene and instructed the CPA and private company officials to cooperate with each other for accelerating the port activities, the CPA operators and the terminal traffic manager became active and operation of the terminal resumed.
“We are working round the clock and it may take only a few days for smooth functioning of the port,” the leader of the joint forces team told the C & F agents.
The back-up services, previously done by the CPA operators, were handed over to Saif Powertec Limited to accelerate the container handling activities.
The company had so far operated four quay gantry cranes (QGC) only for loading and unloading containers.
Saif Powertec officials said they are bringing skilled operators from abroad to accelerate the container operation.
Now, on an average, the company is handling 25-30 containers per hour.
The company officials, however, said the speed of the container handling activities can be increased much and 40-45 containers can be handled per hour.
There are many Bangladeshi skilled operators who worked for long in foreign ports and they can contribute a lot in improving the activities in Chittagong Port, said a high official of the company.
“I worked for 14 years at Fujeirah Port in the United Arab Emirates and now I have joined Saif Powertec to serve my homeland,” said Khorshed Alam, an operator.
Twenty skilled operators from Fujeirah Port, both Bangladeshi and foreign, are working under the company and 20 more are on the way, he said, adding, “We have taken the job as a challenge and container handling activities will gear up when all the staff join.”
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