For the last 13 years, the country’s premier port did not have any service jetty from which it could provide the necessary support to inbound and outbound ships, though it has a total of 18 jetties for loading and unloading goods.
“The port had a service jetty in the Jetty-17 area, which expired in 2008. Later, the authorities appointed local firm Wahab and Barik (JV) to build a new service Jetty in 2018. At the end of last year, the construction of the jetty was completed,” said Mizanur Rahman Sarkar, executive engineer at the port.
He told The Business Standard that after completing the necessary paperwork, they fixed 20 December to inaugurate the jetty.
State Minister for shipping Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury is scheduled to inaugurate the jetty along with a new ship – Kandari 7 – for the port rescue fleet. Local company Western Marine Shipyard has built the ship.
Currently, the seaport has a total of 35 vessels for rescue, tug, survey, fire-fighting, water-carrying and other necessary services.
Officials said the port-owned vessels have been anchoring here and there on the Karnaphuli River shore. As a result, the ships used to take extra time in regular operations. Besides, the authorities needed to spend more on fuel.
The new service jetty would bring momentum in operating vessels of the port and keep them protected, hopes Mohammad Omar Faruq, the port secretary.
The jetty would help release goods from ships, as well, he told The Business Standard.
Located in the Jetty-1 area on the edge of Karnaphuli River, the service jetty has a capacity of accommodating two ships with a 5-metre draft and 100-metre length at a time.
Meanwhile, the port authorities constructed a three-story office on 2,650 square feet of land, a steel-structure warehouse on 3,000 square feet, and an underground water reservoir, retaining walls, riverbank and shore protection structures, drainage system, electric substation, and a signal tower centring the jetty.
Source : TBS News
