Chittagong Port set a new record for container handling in the fiscal year 2024-25, successfully handling a total of 3,296,067 TEUs.
This marks an increase of 127,377 TEUs, or 4 per cent growth year-on-year.
This achievement comes despite operational disruptions in the final weeks of the fiscal year. Officials noted that anti-discrimination protests, two Eid holidays, transport strikes, and work abstentions by National Board of Revenue (NBR) officials affected both port and customs activities.
They estimate that, without these disruptions, the port could have handled more than 3.3 million TEUs.
Alongside the rise in container throughput, the Chittagong Custom House reported record revenue collection.
In the 2024–25 fiscal year, customs revenue reached Tk75,432 crore ($6.85 billion), up from Tk68,755.7 crore ($6.25 billion) in the previous year, an increase of Tk6,676.3 crore ($606 million) or 9.71 per cent growth.
The container handling figures include operations from the main jetty, Kamalapur Inland Container Depot (ICD), and Pangaon Inland Container Terminal, and cover both import-export and empty containers.
Md Omar Faruk, Secretary of the Chittagong Port Authority, commented: “This is the highest container handling figure in our history. All officers, staff, and stakeholders worked with dedication to achieve this. We thank everyone for their efforts.”
In recent news, the Bangladesh government ordered tax and customs workers to end a two-day nationwide strike and return to work immediately on June 29. The strike had disrupted tax operations throughout the country, including customs operations at the port.