Allow Bangladesh cargo trans-shipments

Kolkata Port Trust (KPT) should develop separate Dock System with ship-to-shore handling facility in order to efficiently handle growing Bangladesh and coastal cargo, suggested an ASSOCHAM paper released on 8 May 2019.

“KPT is facing a number of challenges as such it should alternatively develop separate berths/dock area as it would ease congestion due to traffic from Chittagong Port,” suggested the paper on ‘Shipping, Ports, Customs and Inland Waterways.”

The paper also suggested that since KPT does not permit trans-shipment cargo, thus either Dhamra Port or Ennore Port should be developed as transshipment ports.

It also said that permission for transshipment of Bangladesh export cargo via Indian Ports viz., Kolkata, Vishakhapatnam, Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust, Mundra Port (MDPT) will help create a reverse cargo flow from Bangladesh and develop the Indo-Bangladesh trade lane using rail/inland waterway and short sea shipping options as transport modes.

The ASSOCHAM paper also suggested that coastal ‘EXIM’ cargo for Bangladesh can have the flexibility to avail DPE (Direct Port Entry) for exports from Kolkata, instead of CFS (container freight station) routing, trade volumes will grow. “This would serve as revenue incentive”.

Further, manual filing of Import General Manifest (IGM) and other process like EXIM movement at Kolkata Port should be done away with to minimise delay in cargo movement and reduce operational costs.

Noting that under the current Indo-Bangladesh inland waterway protocol, there are just four calls agreed for transportation of goods, ASSOCHAM paper has suggested including additional ports from either side.

“There is a substantial amount of cargo available for additional ports for example – Pakur, Farakka etc. within National Waterway-1 for delivery in many other ports of Bangladesh,” it said. fiinews.com