Insiders say the Bangladeshi Government will not encourage businesses to reroute export-import trade through Indian ports because there are no specific facilities there and a local deep-sea port is soon to be built.
The Matarbari deep-sea port is currently under construction, and vessel traffic is anticipated to begin operations by 2026.
Concerned authorities also made this choice because they believe Bangladesh may not be able to receive any preferential treatment from Indian ports in comparison to regional transshipment ports in Singapore, Colombo, and Port Klang.
They also note that for the mother-vessel operators to begin shipping operations on this route, they would need to deploy a sufficient number of feeder vessels between Chittagong and Indian ports.
It is not clear whether the mother or feeder-vessel operators will agree to deploy vessels on this route by considering business prospects, they have said.
SM Mostafa Kamal, a joint secretary at the Ministry of shipping, led a 13-member Bangladeshi delegation in early July to visit ports in Chennai, Krishnapatnam, Vishakhapatnam, Kolkata, and Haldia.
The familiarisation trip aimed at observing the technical feasibility, commercial viability, and infrastructure facilities at the Indian ports and discussing what additional facilities they can offer if Bangladeshi businesses use the ports for external trade.
The Bangladeshi delegation undertook the visit to Indian ports as a follow-up to a decision made at the Indo-Bangla shipping secretary-level meeting held in Dhaka.
Kamal told the local media that, while visiting the ports, the delegation members asked the port authorities to let them know in writing what additional facilities could be offered to Bangladeshi businesses for carrying out third-country export-import business using the ports.
“However, one and a half months have passed by since their visit, but the Indian port authorities didn’t communicate further,” he said.
“We will hold a meeting of the delegation members soon and submit a report to the ministry,” he added.
Kamal believes that the Matarbari deep-sea port, which is scheduled to open in a few years, would suffer a significant loss if traffic were to be diverted to Indian ports. At present, Bangladesh’s yearly gross external trade amounts to approximately US $ 120 billion, with the majority of that amount passing via Chittagong seaport.
Nonetheless, a few years ago, growing traffic at the Chittagong port compelled Bangladeshi merchants to search for speedier ways to transport goods from export to import.
As a result, the topic was covered at the 2023 meeting between the shipping secretaries of Bangladesh and India. According to the officials, a decision was made at the meeting to evaluate the commercial and technical viability of using the Indian ports.
