Berth operators at Chattogram Port’s General Cargo Berth (GCB) are facing mounting financial losses as container and vessel allocations have fallen significantly below contractual benchmarks, leaving them with sharply reduced revenues but largely unchanged fixed operating costs.
The operators of the six GCB container berths, including Fazlisons Limited and FQ Khan & Brothers Limited- have raised the same concerns.
Fazlisons Limited, one of the operators of GCB’s container berths, has sought a rational distribution of container vessels among GCB, New Mooring Container Terminal (NCT) and Chittagong Container Terminal (CCT), along with a review of contractual terms and rates.
The company submitted a 14-page application to the Chairman of the Chittagong Port Authority (CPA) on Monday, seeking an “amicable settlement” under Public Procurement Act (PPA) 2006 and Public Procurement Rules (PPR) 2008.
GCB sources said the other GCB container berth operators have also submitted letters to the port authority raising similar concerns.
39.4% shortfall against contractual benchmark
According to data included in Fazlisons’ application, GCB Berth No. 9 was expected to handle 721,356 container boxes over 47 months from October 2022 to August 2026 under a five-year contract.
That translated into an average monthly benchmark of 15,348 boxes. However, the berth handled only 437,596 boxes during the period, 283,760 fewer than the benchmark, representing a shortfall of 39.4 per cent.
The company said the decline in workload has severely affected its revenue while it has remained contractually obligated to maintain sufficient manpower, machinery and round-the-clock operational capacity. As a result, it has been unable to proportionately reduce fixed operating expenses despite the sharp fall in container handling.
Abu Sharif, Managing Director of FQ Khan & Brothers Limited, a berth operator at GCB, told TIMES of Bangladesh that the company had based its business plan, manpower and equipment deployment on the contractual obligation to handle 15,348 container boxes a month under the 2022 agreement. Accordingly, the company maintained the required workforce, including staff, drivers and equipment operators, as well as the necessary machinery to handle the stipulated volume.
“However, we are currently receiving only around 6,000 to 8,000 container boxes a month. In other words, we are not even getting half of the workload that formed the basis for the financial and administrative commitments assigned to us under the contract,” he said.
He said the sharp decline in container allocation had reduced the operators’ workload but had not proportionately reduced their fixed operating costs. Under the terms of the agreement, the company was required to provide a performance bank guarantee of around Tk7.5 crore based on the stipulated workload. Given the significantly lower volume of containers currently being allocated, the guarantee should ideally be around Tk2.5 crore, he said.
“This means we are maintaining an excessive bank guarantee for a volume of work we are not actually receiving. As a result, we are incurring substantial annual interest costs on the additional amount,” Abu Sharif said.
He added that the reduced container allocation had also made it difficult for the company to recover its manpower and other operational costs.
“Due to the insufficient flow of containers, we are struggling even to cover our workforce and other operating expenses,” he said.
Abu Sharif said the operators had made significant investments in infrastructure, manpower and financial capacity based on the workload specified in the agreement. “It becomes difficult to meet operational costs when we do not receive vessel and container allocations commensurate with the investments we made to operate at the GCB,” he said.
NCT, CCT receive higher allocations
Fazlisons also cited July 2026 data to illustrate what it described as a disparity in container allocation among the port’s terminals. According to the 14-page application, NCT handled 126,722 container units during the month, while Saif Powertec Limited handled 46,029 containers at CCT. In contrast, Fazlisons’ GCB Berth No. 9 handled only 7,963 containers.
The company alleged that container vessels are being preferentially allocated to NCT and CCT, while GCB berths receive comparatively fewer vessels, often leaving them dependent on surplus or overflow traffic. Such a pattern, the company said, is creating a mismatch between contractual obligations and actual workloads.
Fazlisons also referred to a decision of the CPA board meeting held on March 28, 2023. According to the application, the board decided that vessel berths at CCT, NCT and GCB should be allocated at reasonable rates amid a decline in container vessel calls caused by the global economic slowdown and the Russia-Ukraine war.
The company, however, alleged that the decision has not been adequately implemented. The Berth Operators’ Association (BOA) has also previously raised concerns over reduced vessel allocation to GCB compared with NCT and CCT between 2023 and 2026, the application said.
Chattogram Port operates three major container-handling facilities under different operating arrangements- NCT, CCT and GCB.
NCT is operated by Chittagong Dry Dock Limited, while Saif Powertec operates CCT. GCB has 12 berths, six of which are designated for container vessels and the remaining six for general cargo and bulk carriers.
The six container berths are operated by MH Chowdhury Ltd, Everest Port Services Ltd, Bashir Ahmed, A & J Traders, Fazlisons Limited, and FQ Khan & Brothers Limited.
Port data show that 35,31,118 TEUs were handled collectively at GCB, NCT and CCT in fiscal year 2025-26. Of these, GCB’s six container berths handled 10,37,196 TEUs, accounting for around 29% of the combined volume.
Fazle Ekram Chowdhury, president of the Berth Operators, Ship Handling Operators and Terminal Operators Owners Association, and also the owner of Fazlisons Limited, told TIMES that the GCB container berths were being disadvantaged by the allocation of container vessels to NCT and CCT. “Only surplus or overflow vessels are being sent to GCB,” he said, alleging that the practice has created serious operational and commercial disparities among the terminals.
He said the allocation pattern was reportedly influenced by audit objections and differences in terminal charges, including gantry crane fees. According to him, the perception that higher charges at certain terminals generate greater government revenue may be influencing vessel allocation decisions. He warned that continued disparity could threaten the businesses of the GCB operators as well as the employment and livelihoods of around 5,000 workers engaged across the six container berths.
Meanwhile, MH Chowdhury Ltd also submitted a letter to the CPA on Sunday seeking a review of container traffic allocation and revision of contracted rates. The company cited the PPA 2006 and PPR 2008 and called for an amicable resolution after reviewing handling data from September 2022 to August 2026.
When contacted, CPA Secretary Syed Refayet Hamim said once a copy was received and the chairman or senior officials issued any directive or official response, the matter would be communicated accordingly.
