Mongla yet to become a port of choice among businesses

Mongla Port, which was expected to get a new lease on life due to the increasing flow of imported and exported goods after the opening of the Padma Bridge, is yet to become a port of choice among businesses.

The opening of the much-talked-about bridge has reduced the travel distance between Mongla Port on the southwest coast of Bangladesh and the capital Dhaka, the key industry and trade centre of Bangladesh's $460 billion economy, to 170 kilometres from 289 kilometres.

On the other hand, the distance between Dhaka and Chattogram, the major seaport that handles roughly 90 percent of the country's seaborne trade, was shortened by 90 km.

The Mongla Port Authority (MPA) has taken several measures to increase flow, including dredging of the channel, but it has not worked, according to port users.

The imports of fertiliser, wheat, raw materials for the cement industry, coal, and cars, and the exports of fish, shrimp, crabs, readymade garments, jute goods, and other products have increased.

However, businessmen still depend on Chattogram port for overseas trade thanks to the required draft available at the Karnaphuli River, they said.

The Mongla port handled 32,269 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) in the financial year of 2021-22 but it reduced to 26,590 TEUs in 2022-23, according to data from the MPA.

Container handling slipped by 18 percent year-on-year to 26,590 TEUs in 2022-23 owing to a downward trend in foreign trade, the lowest in the last five fiscal years.

Around 99 lakh tonnes of goods of all types, including containerised cargoes, were transported through Mongla Port in FY 2022-23, down from 1.13 crore tonnes in FY 2021-22.

The data shows that cargo handling reduced by 12 percent in the last fiscal year compared to the previous fiscal year.

Besides, a total of 827 ships arrived at the Mongla Port in FY 2022-23, while 886 ships had arrived in FY 2021-22.

Annual container handling by the port reached 59,476 TEUs for the first time in FY 2019-20, which was the most in the port's history.

On the other hand, container handling reduced by 3 percent in the Chattogram Port in FY 2022-23, declining to 30,50,793 TEUs from 31,42,504 TEUs in FY2021-22.

Meanwhile, cargo handling reduced by 6 percent, declining to 10.3 crore tonnes in FY2022-23 from 11 crore tonnes in FY2021-22.

As per the data, the use of Mongla Port by businessmen reduced compared to Chattogram Port.

"After the inauguration of the Padma Bridge, the possibility of increasing foreign trade through Mongla Port emerged. But it failed to materialise thanks to a failure to attract users due to the lower draft of the channel," said Mohammed Amirul Haque, managing director of Premier Cement Mill PLC, a user of the port.

The Mongla Port is not fit for the anchorage of 10-meter draft ships due to the low draft of the Pusur River channel, he said.

"We can bring at best a seven-meter draft ship through the Pusur channel, which makes the port commercially unviable for importers and exporters," he said.

The MPA has been trying to increase the draft of the channel to ensure the ply of 10-metre draft ships for a long time, but it could not do so, he noted.

As a result, despite having all facilities like the jetty, and equipment for handling containers, businessmen do not feel interested in using this port.

Even the container handling of the Pangaon Inland Container Depot (ICD) is far greater than Mongla Port, Haque said.

He further said the cost of transport would be reduced if the Mogla Port could be used as its distance to the capital is shorter than Chattogram Port due to the opening of the Padma Bridge.

Mohammad Shahidul Islam, chairman of the HNS group, said very few businessmen use the Mongla Port as it offers comparatively fewer facilities than the Chattogram Port.

However, he said car importers import around 70 percent of cars through the Mongla port.

"We use this port as the rent is lower than Chattogram port and the distance to the capital has been reduced due to Padma Bridge," he noted.

Islam opined that the use of the port would increase in the future as the MPA is gradually developing facilities.

Shaheen Rahman, chairman of MPA, said the arrival of ships reduced in the last fiscal year as imports reduced due to a global economic slowdown.

"We are trying to encourage the businessmen to use the port as well as offering necessary port facilities," he noted.

He acknowledged that container handling had reduced despite there being a huge possibility of import and export activities as its container handling capacity is up to date.

Once the ongoing dredging project at the inner bar is completed, vessels with a draft of 9.5 to 10 meters will be able to come to Mongla Port easily, he noted.

He also said ships with greater draft arriving at the port would increase the income of Mongla Port as well as government revenue.