Written by The Banking Post
The Chittagong Port Authority (CPA) has taken over long-term management of Dhaka’s Pangaon Inland Container Depot (ICD) from the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA), in a bid to shift more cargo from roads to rivers.
An agreement signed Wednesday leases the facility to CPA for 10 years starting December 1, 2025, with annual renewals, while the overall deal will remain valid for 30 years. A separate MoU was also inked with the Bangladesh Navy to build a heavy-lift cargo jetty at Chattogram port’s Laldia-2 area.
A project with lost momentum
Pangaon ICD, set up in 2013 at a cost of Tk 1.54 billion, was designed to reduce pressure on the Dhaka–Chattogram highway by offering faster and cheaper river cargo services. But traffic through the terminal has steadily declined as importers cited high freight charges, customs hurdles, and safety concerns.
At present, around 95 percent of Chattogram’s cargo is transported by road, worsening congestion and raising logistics costs.
CPA Chairman Rear Admiral SM Monriuzzaman said the depot was originally built to make Dhaka’s trade more cost- and time-efficient. He added that CPA plans to establish a free cotton zone at Pangaon to attract businesses and diversify cargo handling.
The facility can store 3,500 TEUs and handle up to 116,000 TEUs annually. Yet shipping costs of $200–250 per container remain higher than road and rail alternatives, limiting trader interest.
Building for the future
To improve infrastructure, the Navy will construct a 240-metre heavy-lift jetty with back-up facilities at Laldia-2 under delegated works.
CPA officials expect that the revival of Pangaon ICD, coupled with new port facilities, will ease pressure on overburdened road and rail corridors while expanding the country’s inland waterway network.
They said the move could eventually provide businesses with a sustainable and cost-effective logistics alternative.
