Bangladesh opts for Magampura Port
Bangladesh has planned to conduct most of its shipping trade through
the newly built deep sea port in Hambantota, aimed at cutting freight
cost and making shipment to Europe quicker, officials said.
Shipping minister Shajahan Khan will fly to the Indian Ocean island
nation next month to sign a new shipping service deal, which could usher
in a new era in the country’s 40 billion dollars plus foreign trade.
Presently, some 80 per cent of the country’s foreign trade is done
through Singapore Port. Feeder vessels carry Bangladeshi containers to
the port from where the cargoes board mother vessels to be shipped to
their destinations.
But Sri Lanka’s newly built Magampura port in Hambantota could change
the scenario, as it offers fewer days for shipment and cheaper freight
charges thanks to its proximity to Chittagong Port and the country’s
major export market, Europe. Shipping Ministry officials said feeder
vessels from Chittagong Port take four days to reach Colombo or
Hambantota while it needs five days to reach Singapore, home to one of
the world’s largest seaports.
They said after inking the agreement with Sri Lanka, the government
would prod local shipping agents and their principal companies to make
maximum use of Sri Lankan ports including the old Colombo Port.
Shipping minister Khan confirmed to the FE that he was heading to Sri
Lanka in June to sign a new shipping deal, replacing the one signed in
1979.
The deal will make Bangladeshi shipment cost-effective, he said.
The deal was supposed to be signed during Sri Lankan President
Mahinda Rajapaksa’s four-day visit to Bangladesh last month. But it was
postponed at the last moment due to procedural delays.
Shipping agents welcomed the planned deal with Sri Lanka, but they
expressed guarded optimism whether the agreement could massively
reorient Bangladeshi shipping trade via Hambantota and Colombo.
“It is true that Singapore Port is costly and takes more time to
reach. By contrast, Sri Lankan ports are cheaper and take one day less
to reach,” said ex-President of Bangladesh Shipping Agents Association
Ahsanul Huq Chowdhury.
“If Hambantota and Colombo offer similar facilities, I am sure most
Bangladeshi shipping agents would start using Lankan ports. After all,
one day is a big factor as far as shipment and freight cost are
concerned,” he said.
Already some shipping lines have increased use of the Sri Lankan
ports following the launching of the Chinese built Hambantota deep sea
port on November 18, 2010.
European nations accounted for some 60 per cent of Bangladesh’s $16.2
billion export last year.
Maersk Line, one of the world’s largest shipping companies, has
nearly 33 per cent stake of Colombo Port and majority stake of Tanjung
Pelepas Port in Malaysia. It carries up to 25 per cent sea cargoes
worldwide.
Chittagong Port’s terminal manager Enamul Karim told the FE that some
80 to 85 per cent of Bangladeshi export cargo goes to Singapore Port.
Nearly 10 per cent goes to Colombo and five per cent to Tanjung
Pelepas Port in Malaysia, Lam Chabang Port in Thailand and Calcutta Port
in India. He said of the 56 feeder vessels run by 10 feeder operators
from Chittagong port, five to six go to Colombo but around 40 vessels go
to Singapore. Most of the feeder vessels are being operated by the
foreign companies.
(Financial Express, Bangladesh)
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