Chittagong Port Authority (CPA) Chairman Zulfiqur Aziz yesterday said management reforms, yard capacity enhancement and equipment purchases have eased congestion of ships awaiting berth and reduced their turnaround time to 2.58 days in March.

The authorities will hold discussions with importers to try to predict and cope with increased volumes of products arriving ahead of Ramadan and the annual budget, he said.

Aziz was exchanging views with journalists on the eve of the 131st Chittagong Port Day. 

The country's trade volume is forecasted to reach around 14 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) by 2043, he said.

But the port will not be able to handle over 7 million TEUs even after completion of projects such as Potenga Container Terminal, Laldia Multi-Purpose Terminal and Bay Terminal by 2028, he said.

“So this is obvious that we need new ports to handle the ever increasing cargo and that is why the government has taken an initiative to construct Payra port and a commercial seaport at Matarbari in Maheshkhali,” he said.

Processes have already been complete for purchasing equipment for New Mooring Container Terminal, said Aziz.

He said the CPA would soon resume capital dredging of the Karnaphuli river.

He said they were planning to build a delivery yard and a truck terminal at a proposed Bay Terminal area to shift delivery activities from the port yards to bring in more efficiency.