Chattogram Port Running Out of Space

A surge in auctioned and empty containers piling up in the yards has pushed Chattogram Port close to full capacity, despite multiple measures to keep operations smooth.

According to Chattogram Port Authority (CPA) data, 47,463 TEUs (Twenty-foot Equivalent Units) were occupying 80.44% of storage space as of Wednesday. Among these, 16,215 TEUs—comprising 10,229 auctioned and 5,986 empty containers—alone accounted for 27.48% of the port’s total 59,000 TEU capacity.

Meanwhile, the country’s 21 inland container depots (ICDs), or off-docks, were holding around 76,000 TEUs—about 8,500 imports, 7,500 exports, and 60,000 empties—against their combined capacity of 106,000 TEUs.

Sources said insufficient yard space is hampering essential port activities such as loading, unloading, stacking, and container movement. They attributed the crisis to growing import-export volumes, the rising backlog of auctioned and empty containers, and the delivery of LCL (less-than-container load) consignments within port premises.

Stakeholders have urged swift measures including port space expansion, quicker transfer of containers to off-docks, and allowing more categories of goods to be delivered from off-docks.

The congestion has reached record levels, with containers in port yards peaking at 49,131 TEUs on Sunday and 48,881 TEUs on Saturday. Normally, the number ranges between 32,000 and 35,000 TEUs, rising to about 45,000 during transport strikes or natural disasters.

To ease pressure, the CPA and the National Board of Revenue (NBR) have raised storage rent, expedited the clearance of auctioned containers, expanded yard facilities, and stepped up transfers to off-docks.

Bangladesh Shipping Agents Association (BSAA) Director Khairul Alam Suzan noted that imports of raw materials and other goods have recently increased as the dollar crisis eased and US tariff hikes lost impact. He added that undelivered consignments of industrial goods damaged after 5 August have further worsened the congestion. Suzan called for rapid transfers to ICDs, yard expansion, and faster auctions to reduce the bottleneck affecting trade.

Bangladesh Inland Container Depot Association (BICDA) Secretary General Ruhul Amin Sikder pointed out that only 65 categories of imported goods are currently allowed to be delivered from off-docks. Delivery of LCL consignments from port yards, he said, disrupts smooth operations and should instead be shifted entirely to off-docks.

CPA Secretary Mohammad Omar Faruk told the Daily Sun that storage capacity was recently raised from 53,518 to 59,000 TEUs through repair and renovation. Alongside CPA’s measures, customs has launched its largest-ever auction of 470 containers and revised rules to speed up the process, he said.

Faruk added that about 2,000 containers remain stranded due to rail transport constraints caused by a shortage of locomotives. However, he insisted that despite the rising numbers, import and export activities and deliveries from the port remain unaffected.