CONTAINER handling at Chittagong port increased nine per cent year on year in the last three months when a total of 830,582 containers were handled in the port, said Chittagong Port Authority (CPA) chairman SM Moniruzzamany, reported Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha news agency BSS.

Speaking at a media briefing, he expressed the hope that container handling would cross 3.2 million TEU at the end of the current fiscal year if the present trend of container handling continues.

Giving a salient feature of container handling at the port, he said the port experienced a growth of over 9.22 per cent in container handling compared to the previous year.

Regarding average waiting time of ships, Rear Admiral Moniruzzaman said that there were 45,500 containers at Chattogram Port' on July 16. That is, 85 per cent of the total capacity of the Chittagong Port.

"It has been reduced to 34,000 through systematic innovation in the last three months. Currently, the average waiting time of ships has come down one day from six to eight days. Ships are getting on-arrival berthing after arriving at Chittagong Port." he said.

Admiral Moniruzzaman said the global economic instability and high inflation caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, the Russia-Ukraine war and the subsequent Middle East crisis are also being reflected in the Bangladesh's economy.

Despite this adverse situation, the CPA has maintained the continuity of cargo and container handling through its expertise and experience, he said.