Transport strike at Ctg Port withdrawn

Staff Reporter:

Container transport operations at Chattogram Port resumed this afternoon after nearly two days of disruption, as the Chittagong Port Authority (CPA) agreed to revoke its controversial gate pass fee hike.

The breakthrough came following a meeting between CPA officials and leaders of transport owners and workers on Sunday.

Chowdhury Zafar Ahammad, secretary general of the Bangladesh Transport Owners Association, said the CPA had accepted their demand to withdraw the increased fee and restore the previous rate. “Since our demand has been met, we have withdrawn the strike,” he told the media.
Confirming the decision, CPA Secretary Mohammad Omar Faruk said the authority had “decided to suspend the new gate pass fee following discussions with all stakeholders.”

He added that the CPA would write to the Ministry of Shipping recommending a reduction in the entry fee. Until the revised rates are approved, the previous charge will remain in effect.

The transporters had gone on strike Saturday morning to protest the sudden 300 percent hike in the gate pass fee—from Tk57 to Tk230—imposed without prior consultation.
The strike paralyzed container movement to and from the country’s main seaport, causing severe congestion and disrupting exports and imports.

The crisis deepened further as the transport strike coincided with a four-hour daily work abstention by customs agents protesting a 41percent increase in tariff rates. Together, the two protests brought port operations to a near standstill, blocking container delivery and leaving thousands of trucks stranded outside the terminals.

Although vessel loading and unloading continued, container delivery at the port fell by 45percent in four days, leading to an accumulation of about 3,300 extra containers in storage yards. On 14 October, the port delivered 3,652 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units), but by 18 October, the number had dropped to just 2,007 TEUs.

Private inland container depots (ICDs) continued limited operations, but most prime movers joining the strike worsened congestion.

“If the strike had continued another two days, ICD operations would have collapsed,” said Ruhul Amin Sikder, secretary general of the Bangladesh Inland Container Depot Association (BICDA).
Business leaders warned that the disruption caused heavy financial losses and risked damaging Bangladesh’s export reputation. Former BGMEA director Belayet Hossain said even short delays in raw material delivery increase production costs.

Former Chittagong Chamber of Commerce and Industry director Mahfuzul Haque Shah criticised the “bureaucratic inefficiency” that allowed the issue to escalate, saying, “An international port cannot be managed this way.”

CPA officials said the situation is gradually returning to normal and assured that lessons have been learned. Port users, while relieved, urged authorities to hold stakeholder consultations before introducing any future tariff or fee changes.