The Chittagong Port Authority (CPA) has signed a contract with US-based EagleRail, which offers an all-electric ‘overhead container transportation solution’, and commenced a study to ascertain whether building out an automated overhead conveyor system for short-haul container moves would improve flow and reduce truck congestion at Bangladesh’s leading port.
Port officials believe carrying containers with the conveyor system will raise the port’s container handling efficiency by 15 per cent, as 300 TEU can be moved per hour.
Some 5,000 vehicles hauling containers enter the Chittagong port area daily, creating massive congestion in the port yard. Trucks would not have to enter the port area, if the new overhead system was installed.
The overhead conveyors would carry containers from the port yard to the overflow yard and nearby inland container depots (ICDs), a system that would eliminate congestion in port surrounding areas, CPA member Zafar Alam told.
‘The system is effective and can move containers without affecting normal city traffic,’ the CPA said in a statement. ‘The system will run by Eagle-i logistics software and will be synchronised with the existing container terminal management system of Chittagong port.’
The study will assess the environmental, economic, social, and land use aspect of the conveyor system.
