Bangladesh Air Force Officer Commodore Zulfikar Aziz has been appointed as the new Chairman of Chittagong Port Authority (CPA) with an aim to resolute the problem of the congestion of container vessels at the outer anchorage of the Port, which crippled loading and unloading activities for quite a long time.
A Bangladesh Public Ministry order, signed by the Deputy Secretary Numeri Zaman, on Tuesday (January 2, 2018) attached Aziz to the Shipping Ministry, local media reports maintained. The newly appointed Chairman will replace the existing Chairman Rear Admiral M Khalid Iqbal.
Additionally, Captain Khandaker Akter Hossain, Office of Bangladesh Air Force, has also been appointed as the member (Engineering) of the CPA.
Talking to the media, Aziz said that his first priority would be taking necessary measures to reduce the vessel congestion. “As a new Chairman my first target is to reduce the vessel mobbing and turn the Port into an international standard one,” Aziz said.
The country’s apex trade associations, including Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), expressed grave concern over the vessel congestion repeatedly which has been affecting the trade and commerce over the years.
The Port of Chittagong is the busiest seaport on the coastline of the Bay of Bengal and the second busiest in the overall region of countries dependent on the Bay of Bengal. According to Lloyd’s, it ranked as the 73rd busiest port in the world in 2017.
Bangladesh, globally the second largest apparel exporter after China, is heavily dependent on the Chittagong Port as about 90 per cent of the country’s export and import is done through this port.
