The Chattogram Port Authority (CPA) has agreed to hold a meeting with port users and stakeholders within the next 15 days to review the recently increased port tariffs.
A final decision on which revised tariff components are reasonable and business-friendly will be taken at that meeting.
Amir Humayun Mahmud Chowdhury, a former president of the Chattogram Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI), announced the decision during a meeting of the Chattogram Port Users Forum at the City Hall Convention Center in Chattogram on Wednesday.
Chowdhury said the forum had earlier issued an ultimatum during a protest at the Navy Convention Center, warning that port operations would be shut down if the tariff revision was not reconsidered. Carrying and forwarding agents and transport workers had also threatened strike actions. In response, the port chairman suspended the tariff hike in four categories.
“Following our letter to the chief adviser, we met with the CPA chairman on October 28. The chairman agreed to sit with port users soon and reassess the tariff structure,” he said.
“We believe our initial program has been successful. Now we will collect specific objections from all relevant associations so we can present a unified and realistic proposal to the government,” Chowdhury added.
Former Director of the Bangladesh Shipping Agents Association, Shahed Sarwar, said the claim of a 41 percent tariff increase is misleading, as logistics costs for many items have soared far beyond that.
“For example, handling a ‘dangerous goods’ cargo container has jumped from $371 to $1,520, up by about 400 percent,” he said.
This is making shipping to Bangladesh increasingly unattractive, which is a very alarming situation for trade, Sarwar added.
Although organised by the Port Users Forum, the gathering was largely shaped by the United Business Forum as part of its campaign ahead of the CCCI elections on November 1. Leaders of various business associations attended and discussed broader business challenges in the region.
The forum’s panel leader and Seacom Group Chairman Amirul Haque highlighted how the weighing scale on the Dhaka-Chattogram highway disrupts transport of stone and coal to the Mirsarai Economic Zone.
“It is shameful that these goods are being unloaded at Mongla port and transported to Mirsarai by road because of one scale. This situation is unacceptable,” he said.
The trade leaders present also raised several other issues.
This includes reducing the CCCI membership fee from Tk 5,000 to Tk 2,000, stopping harassment over VAT inspections and abolishing toll collection on Karnaphuli bridges for South Chattogram residents.
Additionally, they urged for keeping the CCCI free of political influence, preventing fairs in hotels and venues under the name of trade bodies and withdrawing the weighing scale at Sitakunda’s Bara Darogar Hat
Attending as a special guest, BGMEA Director MA Salam said the forum strongly protests the unjust port tariff hike.
“Our 24-member panel will rebuild the CCCI. The current 7,700 voters must be increased to at least 20,000 within the next two years,” he added.
Former CCCI president of Sarwar Jamal Nizam; former BARVIDA president Habibullah Don; C&F Agents Association President Saiful Alam, General Secretary Shawkat Ali Chowdhury; First Vice President of BGAPMEA Shahidullah Chowdhury, and adviser Latifur Rahman Azim, were among others present at the event.
