Waterway cargo transport from Chattogram port to Dhaka got a shot in the arm on Saturday as MEDLOG Bangladesh Private Limited began operations at the Pangaon Inland Container Terminal (PICT).
Marking the launch, A vessel named SAPL-1 departed from the PICT dock in Keraniganj Dhaka carrying 75 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) bound for Chattogram port.
The cargo comprised four TEUs of export containers while 71 TEUs were empty containers.
With this maiden voyage, a new chapter has begun for the Chattogram-Pangaon waterway route, which has been long considered a vital yet underutilised alternative to the country’s overstretched road network.
Despite its strategic location near Dhaka, Pangaon terminal has struggled with low vessel calls, declining container handling, and mounting losses since its inauguration in 2013.
At one point, it was even widely believed that the terminal would become commercially irrelevant.
But now, the entry of a global logistics player has rekindled hope among port users, traders and policymakers that inland waterway transport can finally play its intended role.
According to MEDLOG Bangladesh, a concern of the Geneva-based logistics and supply chain company MEDLOG, a total of 13 vessels have been approved to operate on the Chattogram-Pangaon route.
Of these, five vessels will operate under MEDLOG Bangladesh through a contractual arrangement with Sea Glory Shipping Line.
The remaining fleet includes four vessels from the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Corporation (BIWTC), two from Karim Shipping, and two operated by the Bangladesh Navy.
ATM Anisul Millat, managing director of MEDLOG Bangladesh, said the company is initially taking a phased and cautious approach.
“For now, one or two vessels will operate each week. When the cargo volume grows, we plan to introduce daily sailings,” he added.
MEDLOG Bangladesh plans to add six vessels to its own fleet within the next three years, with a longer-term vision of inducting up to 25 vessels in phases.
Altogether, the company intends to invest around $40 million in developing and modernising Pangaon terminal.
Zahiruddin Jewel, managing director of Sea Glory Shipping, said they expect cargo movement on the river route will increase significantly with MEDLOG’s involvement.
Shipping Adviser Brigadier General (retd), Dr M Sakhawat Hossain, highlighted the initiative’s broader significance while attending the formal inauguration ceremony.
“Upgrading the PICT to international standards will increase inland container traffic and strengthen multimodal transport connectivity,” he said. “This initiative has opened new horizons in port management and inland shipping.”
He added that the government’s primary objective is to turn the long loss-making but strategically important infrastructure into a profitable and efficient operation through professional management.
The PICT was originally conceived as a gamechanger for containerised cargo transport between Chattogram and Dhaka by river.
Medlog has now taken over the terminal’s management at a time when vessel calls and container handling have fallen to their lowest levels, raising questions about how quickly confidence can be restored.
Chattogram port currently handles around 3.4 million TEUs annually, about 80 percent of which are destined for Dhaka and neighbouring areas.
However, only around four percent of the Dhaka-bound containers move by rail and roughly one percent use inland waterways via Pangaon.
Port officials argue that with container traffic growing at an average rate of around 11 per cent per year, the existing road network simply lacks the capacity to cope, making a modal shift unavoidable.
Official data underscores the terminal’s sharp decline in recent years. Container handling at Pangaon peaked at 35,771 TEUs in fiscal year (FY) 2022-23. This fell to 10,240 TEUs in FY24 and plunged further to just 3,022 TEUs in FY25, a drop of about 91.5 per cent from the peak year and more than 70 percent year-on-year.
Still, stakeholders believe the revival effort could yield tangible benefits. The resumption of regular river services is expected to cut Chattogram-Dhaka transport costs by 30-40 per cent and ease pressure on the Dhaka-Chattogram highway.
Currently, transporting a 20-foot container by road costs between Tk36,000 and Tk-40,000, while the cost of using river routes is estimated at Tk20,000 to Tk24,000.
Rear Admiral SM Moniruzzaman recently said that river-based container transport would not only reduce costs but also help curb road accidents, traffic congestion, and environmental pollution.
Garment exporters, among the largest users of Chattogram port, welcomed the initiative.
Mohammad Hatem. president of the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association, said policy bottlenecks and weak management had kept Pangaon underutilised for years.
“Business confidence is gradually returning,” he said, while stressing the need to simplify customs and port procedures to make the terminal truly business friendly.
