The age-old practice of underhand dealings inside the port for container movement has been checked considerably as well.

Although bribing of customs officials for customs clearance has stopped, a small number of highly secretive underhand dealings still take place in the port, according to sources.

According to sources, the joint forces had formed a taskforce immediately after the declaration of emergency in the country for improving the situation at the port.

The task force had a series of meetings with all stakeholders before adopting the plan of action, the source said.

The arrest of a number of powerful CBA and stevedoring leaders including Nurullah Bahar, Abdul Ahad, Mohammad Ibrahim and Raihan Sharif left the port free from opposition by the dock workers and helped the task force implement its plan.

According to a Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) investigative report, underhand transactions of around Tk 400 crore used to take place annually at the premier port.

Earlier, the government or the port authority failed to take on any major reform programme due to strong opposition from dockworkers and CBA leaders.

The taskforce has taken a number of steps for accelerating container handling and reducing cost. Many of the steps have already been implemented and some others are at various stages of implementation.

A three-shift workday has been introduced for dockworkers for ensuring round the clock operation at the port in place of earlier two-shift workdays.

"We are happy about the steps taken by the joint forces so far for saving the port from devastation and accelerating the cargo handling activities," said Mohammad Amirul Haque, chairman of standing committees of FBCCI and CCCI (Chittagong Chamber of Commerce and Industry) on port and shipping.

He hoped that the people would get the benefit of various reforms undertaken at the premier port.

The container handling responsibility at the Chittagong Container Terminal (CCT) has been given to Saif Powertec Limited, a private firm, for an integrated and smooth operation of the port. The company has started its operation since Wednesday.

Saif Powertec now charges Tk 1200 for loading, unloading and transporting a container to and from the delivery yard.

Earlier, the port users were compelled to spend Tk 4,000 to Tk 5,000 for the same task as they had to bribe the equipment operators employed by the CPA (Chittagong Port Authority) at various points.

A decision was also taken to handover cargo handling activities of different jetties in general yards to private companies.

Other important steps taken by the task force include shifting handling activities of nine bulk items outside the port area, allowing delivery of Full Container Load (FCL), doing away with monopoly in stevedoring system from hook point, reducing the size of the labour groups, setting up sector wise off-dock inland container depot (ICD), cancellation of unreasonable fees and charges by shipping agents and reducing the number of signatures required from customs and port authorities for clearing papers.

According to sources, ever since the new measures came in effect, the turnaround time of a ship has reduced to 7-8 days from earlier 14-16 days.

Moreover, the congestion inside the port area was minimised greatly since the handling of nine bulk items was shifted outside the port where around 1,000 trucks and 2,000 labourers used to gather for handling the cargo.

In the general yard, importers are now allowed to take on chassis delivery of FCL from hook point. They are also allowed to take the FCL to their own premises without providing bank guarantee or cheque to mainline operators or shipping lines. Now they are required only to sign a joint guarantee making sure that the container is in good shape.

The dominance of labour leaders has diminished as well and a 'no work no pay' system has been introduced. The stevedoring system has also been abandoned and the size of labourer groups reduced.

The task force has asked different trade bodies to set up sector wise off-dock inland container depot (ICD) for handling goods and reduce pressure on the port yard. Eleven ICDs already exist in the country and a total of eight more such ICDs would be allowed.

The trade bodies that were asked to set up separate ICDs include BGMEA, BTMA, BARVIDA and C&F agents' association.

The charge of Tk 1,000 for Licence Measuring Department (LMD) by CCCI for import of raw cotton has been withdrawn along with the rate restoration charge of $200 for 20 feet container and $400 for 40 feet containers by the shipping agents.

The cut-off time of the ships would be fixed after negotiation with BGMEA, according to sources.

The shipping line offices are kept open on Saturdays and allocated office spaces with internet facilities near the 'one stop service centre' to issue delivery orders.

The collection of money by freight forwarders against issuing no objection certificates has also been stopped.

The joint forces also stopped toll collection of Tk 67 from each truck by Panama Truck Stand near the port for issuing gate passes. Fees for container survey, documentation and cleaning have also been fixed reasonably.

The handling charge of bulk cargo from mother vessels to land by lighterage vessels has also been reduced to Tk 127-160 per ton instead of previous rate of Tk 400-500.

The port authority has taken an initiative to purchase a 10 MW generator for operating port equipment during power outage. A 2.5 MW generator had been purchased earlier without considering the actual requirement. The process of purchasing a container scanner for expediting customs checking has also been started, said sources.