Goods clearance takes 10 days: Chittagong Port cannot match Vietnam-Singapore-Colombo due to geographical reasons

Economic Desk

Due to its geographical location, the Chittagong Port channel is naturally prone to siltation. As a result, maintaining the depth of this channel has become increasingly difficult without regular and effective dredging. While the port’s navigability reaches up to 9.5 meters during high tide, it drops to just 6-7 meters during low tide. This limited depth poses a major obstacle for large vessels attempting to dock at Chittagong Port.

Apart from navigational challenges, complexities in customs procedures and weak transport connectivity with the country’s major economic zones are hampering the port’s overall efficiency. Experts suggest that no matter how efficiently the port is managed by any competent authority, significant progress in operational capacity will remain unattainable unless these infrastructural limitations are addressed.

A comparison with other modern ports worldwide highlights Chittagong Port’s constraints even more starkly. For instance, the Port of Singapore can accommodate vessels with a draft of up to 16 meters. Sri Lanka’s Colombo Port can handle drafts of up to 18 meters. Vietnam’s Saigon Port has a draft capacity of 11.5 meters, while Cai Mep Port—now recognized as a modern deep-sea port—allows large container ships with drafts of 16-18 meters to operate seamlessly. In contrast, Chittagong Port’s maximum depth, even during high tide, is only 9.5 meters, which is insufficient for large vessels.

Currently, the large vessels used in global trade have capacities ranging from 10,000 to 20,000 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) and require a minimum draft of 12-15 meters to operate. Since Chittagong Port’s channel lacks this depth, such ships cannot dock directly.

Consequently, these large vessels first anchor at deep-sea ports like Singapore or Colombo, and then goods are transferred to smaller ships (with capacities of 1,000-2,000 TEUs) for delivery to Chittagong. This transshipment process is time-consuming, costly, and creates a major bottleneck in cargo transportation.

The issue is not limited to container ships alone. Large bulk carriers transporting open cargo—such as rice, wheat, sugar, edible oil, fuel oil, and coal—also find Chittagong Port inadequate. These vessels require a minimum draft of around 12 meters, which can sometimes extend up to 25 meters. As a result, these ships must anchor in deep waters, and goods are offloaded onto lighter vessels for delivery to the port.

If adverse weather, strikes, or other disruptions hinder lighter vessel operations, the supply chain for essential commodities faces significant disruptions.

Over time, both the width and depth of the port channel at the mouth of the Karnaphuli River have been shrinking. Without regular and effective dredging, silt accumulation near the jetty area obstructs vessel movement. This crisis not only affects Chittagong Port but also risks turning other southeastern coastal ports into inland river ports in the future.

A report by the Netherlands Institute of International Relations ‘Clingendael’ has explicitly highlighted these concerns.

Renowned water resources and environmental expert Professor Ainun Nishat has remarked that Chittagong Port has no realistic future. According to him, the port’s navigability crisis has virtually no permanent solution left. Currently, the port’s average depth is around 26-27 feet (approximately 8 meters).

He states that in the past, there was a possibility of creating a new channel by altering the course of the Karnaphuli River near its bends, passing through the Chittagong EPZ area, which could have provided a long-term solution to the navigability issue. However, subsequent large-scale infrastructure development in that area has rendered this option unfeasible. In Professor Nishat’s words, “We lost this opportunity almost 50 years ago.”

He further adds, “Without increasing navigability, large vessels will not be able to enter Chittagong Port. Therefore, no matter how skilled the operators hired, it will not bring any significant improvement in the port’s efficiency or capacity.”

He cites the example of India’s Kolkata Port and Bangladesh’s Narayanganj Port, which, despite being international ports in the past, have now effectively turned into local inland river ports. Chittagong Port is heading toward the same fate.

Amid these realities, Chittagong Port has resurfaced in discussions, particularly due to proposals to hand over the operation of the New Mooring Container Terminal to a foreign operator. The interim government claims such steps are necessary to transform Bangladesh into a regional trade hub in South Asia.

The Yunus government’s plan states that Chittagong Port should not be viewed merely as a national asset but should also be opened for use by regional partners. Describing the port as the “heart of Bangladesh’s economy,” he says, “This heart must be connected with our neighbors. If India’s seven northeastern states and Nepal join, everyone will benefit. Those who do not join will fall behind.”

However, port experts remain skeptical of this theory. They argue that Chittagong Port’s limitations are so structural and geographical that merely appointing a foreign operator will not solve the problem.

Former Chittagong Port Authority board member Zafar Alam says, “A port’s capacity is not determined solely by the number of jetties or gantry cranes. Without a modern and efficient multimodal transport system (road, rail, water, and air), the port can never become a regional hub.” He adds, “While appointing a world-class terminal operator may improve efficiency on paper, weak connectivity infrastructure will prevent rapid cargo handling and supply chain development.”

Overall, Chittagong Port’s challenges are no longer confined to management or policy decisions alone. It has evolved into a complex structural, geographical, and regional coordination issue, the solution to which requires long-term, planned, and integrated measures.

In international standards of modern port management, time is a critical indicator. While advanced ports worldwide complete cargo handling and supply operations swiftly, Chittagong Port still suffers from prolonged delays.

For example, cargo clearance at Vietnam’s Cai Mep Port is completed within a day. Sri Lanka’s Colombo Port takes an average of three days, while Singapore completes customs, clearing, and delivery processes in just two days. Although Colombo and Singapore, being international transshipment hubs, take slightly longer, it remains within the normal range for global trade.

However, the scenario at Bangladesh’s Chittagong Port is entirely different. According to the National Board of Revenue (NBR), clearing a single container takes an average of 7-10 days. Apart from navigational constraints, complexities in port customs procedures and weak connectivity with major economic zones, including Dhaka, are significant contributors to these delays, say stakeholders.

Experts note that port efficiency does not depend solely on waterways; coordination between road, rail, and other transport systems is equally crucial. Currently, there is no dedicated express logistics corridor for transporting goods from Chittagong Port to major export hubs like Dhaka, Narayanganj, Gazipur, Savar, or Comilla. Containers share the same roads with regular vehicles, adding up to two more days to transportation time. Such sluggish operations risk losing competitiveness in international trade.

Entrepreneurs say these structural limitations are negatively impacting the country’s import-export activities.

Pacific Jeans Group Managing Director Syed Mohammad Tanvir says, “There is no express route for transporting goods from Chittagong Port to Dhaka. Cargo gets stuck with regular vehicles. Although there is a rail-based container transport system, it is inadequate and inefficient.”

In response to this situation, the Awami League government initiated the ‘Matarbari Deep-Sea Port’ project to overcome Chittagong Port’s limitations. The Chittagong Port Authority is working to develop this project as a regional transshipment hub. The authority’s chairman, Rear Admiral Syed Mohammad Moniruzzaman, optimistically states, “Once the Matarbari Deep-Sea Port becomes operational in 2029, all of Chittagong Port’s limitations will be resolved.”

However, businesspeople on the ground argue that building a modern port alone is not enough—the real challenge lies in effectively connecting it with the country’s economic centers.

BSRM Group Managing Director Amer Ali Hussain says, “Matarbari Port is a promising dream. But turning this dream into reality requires multi-layered connectivity, skilled manpower, stakeholder coordination, uninterrupted operational infrastructure, and alignment with international trade agreements. If transporting goods from Matarbari to factories increases both cost and time, it will become a trade barrier rather than a facilitator.”

Overall, both Chittagong Port and the Matarbari Deep-Sea Port demand improved connectivity, modern management, and coordinated planning at national and international levels. Otherwise, Bangladesh’s competitiveness in the global market will decline, and the long-awaited dream of becoming a transshipment hub will remain unfulfilled.