C T Online Desk: The new shipping route, directly linking Karachi and Chattogram, has opened new horizons in the country’s foreign trade, said Chittagong Port Authority (CPA) Chairman Rear Admiral SM Moniruzzaman today.
He was addressing a press conference organised at Shaheed Munshi Fazlur Rahman Auditorium this noon.
Mentioning that the two countries used transshipment ports in Colombo and Singapore earlier, the chairman said the direct route would save both time and money.
Container vessel MV Yang Xiang Fa Zhan, carrying 328 import containers including 264 from Karachi and 64 from Dubai’s Jebel Ali port, arrived at Chattogram port on November 11. The vessel left for Indonesia the following day.
It was the first direct vessel from Karachi to Chattogram that also connected UAE, Indonesia, Malaysia and India.
“The vessel arrived underload due to less demand of imports. However, the shipping liner will continue to operate it if adequate import containers are available,” said Moniruzzaman.
He also said that the port saw 10.22 per cent year-on-year growth in container handling in the last three months since he joined office.
CPA Board members and senior port officials attended the briefing
