Chittagong go-slow cripples operations

This involved the shutdown of many rubber-tyred gantries, with only two of the fleet of eight reported operational in the first few days of the management contract.

Eventually, Saif Powertec intends to operate all the equipment with its own employees, but these have yet to be fully trained up. The operator has resorted to bringing in skilled workers from Fujairah to improve terminal productivity, which has resulted in 25-30 containers per hour being handled.

To reduce the negative impact of militant trade unions and boost productivity, the government of Bangladesh is to privatise operations at Chittagong in the future.

The port authority’s finance chief noted that Chittagong had been held hostage for decades by trade unions and their political patrons, resisting any form of change.