If the capacity of Chittagong port is increased, it will be possible to reduce the cost of doing business in the country by at least 5 percent. At the same time, the interest of foreign entrepreneurs to invest in this country will also increase, said FBCCI President Md. Jashim Uddin on Thursday.
Mentioning that if production starts in full swing in Bangabandhu Industrial City and other economic zones of the country, the pressure on Chittagong Port will increase several times, he called for increasing the capacity of the port now.
The call was made at the first meeting of the FBCCI Standing Committee on Ports and Shipping on Thursday afternoon. Speaking as the chief guest, he said that at present the speed of cargo vehicles on the Dhaka-Chattogram highway is 40 kilometers per hour. If this speed is doubled, the competitiveness of the export sector will increase by 6 percent.
Chemicals imported through Chittagong port have to be tested separately before unloading. However, Chittagong Customs does not have adequate laboratory. It takes importers 10 to 12 days to get the test done. The FBCCI president said that immediate steps should be taken to solve these problems related to the port.
FBCCI President Md. Jasim Uddin urged the standing committee to find short-, medium- and long-term solutions by identifying the problems regarding the Chittagong port.
FBCCI vice-president Md. Amin Helaly said some more ports would be opened in the future. If we can work according to the plan, the progress of the country can be further accelerated by utilizing the potential of these ports.
FBCCI vice-president Md. Habib Ullah Dawn alleged that importing vehicles through Chittagong port would cost double the fare as compared to Mongla port. He remarked that different fares in different ports of the same country are unreasonable.
Standing Committee Director-in-Charge A.M. Mahbub Chowdhury said the profit of Chittagong port has increased several times in the last few years. Despite being a non-profit service organization, it was taking steps to increase the tariff again to increase the amount of profit, he added.
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The chairman of the committee Dr. Md. Pervez Shazzad Aktar called for not increasing the tariff in order to create a business-friendly environment. He said most tariffs have to be paid in dollars. If the tariff increases, the cost of foreign exchange will also increase. Moreover, foreign ship owners can also increase the fare in this opportunity. In that case, there will be fear of an increase in the price of imported goods.
In the open discussion, the members of the standing committee hoped for the cooperation of the port and customs officials to speed up the import-export activities.
