According to Chittagong Port Authority (CPA) sources, presently the average turnaround time of vessels at the port is four days against six to seven days previously. With the completion of three major projects involving Tk 1,118 crore, the turnaround time would come down between 24 to 36 hours, the sources added.

CPA Chairman AMM Shahadat Hossain said uninterrupted operation as a result of successful dealing with labour unrest had helped the port achieve significant improvement in cargo handling and bring down the turn around time.

During the last two years labour unrest could not hamper operational activities of the port even for a single hour while there was no major incident of pilferage during this period, he said.

The CPA chairman said that labour unrest had caused suspension of port activities for around sixty hours from 1998 to 2000. Goods worth around Taka 4 crore was stolen from the port in several frequent incidents of pilferage including eleven daring robberies during this period, he said.

Talking to BSS business leaders and other port users have expressed satisfaction over the present activities of the port and hoped that timely implementation of the development projects would help Chittagong Port attain the standard of a modern port.

Amir Humayun Mahmud Chowdhury, president of Chittagong Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said the turn around time of vessels might come down to 24 hours if the cargo handling could be carried out in a systemic and orderly manner with the help of modern handling equipment.

He also emphasised on the need for speeding up the handling of bulk cargo and mentioned that the port had failed to replace the 100-ton capacity Shaktiman crane which went out of order following the devastating cyclone in 1991. Along with container handling, the handling of bulk cargo has to be geared up for bringing down the turn around time, he added.

Farid Ahmad Chowdhury, chairman of Port Users Forum, proposed for proper training of manpower of the port side by side with installing modern handling equipment. He also asked for turning the port into a holding company and changing the "Port Act" to bring in more dynamism in its management.

MA Salam, first vice-president of BGMEA, said the port activities could be more satisfactory if the container congestion could be lessened further. He proposed for increasing the number of feeder vessels for speedy movement of containers.

Dr Parvez Sajjad Akter, chairman of Bangladesh Steamer Agents Association (BSAA), said the arrival of containers at Chittagong Port has been increasing by about 15 percent every year. To cope with this increased volume of containers and to avoid container congestion, private container yards maybe allowed in areas adjacent to the port alongside the construction of New Mooring Container Terminal.