ICDs defer cargo-handling closure, give authorities a month to resolve tariff row

Private inland container depot (ICD) owners have stepped back from their plan to stop handling export cargo and empty containers from Thursday, giving authorities a one-month window to resolve the ongoing tariff dispute.

The decision came after a meeting today evening with the Chattogram Port Authority (CPA) and Chattogram Customs House.

Bangladesh Inland Container Depot Association (BICDA) Secretary General Ruhul Amin Sikder said CPA Acting Chairman Commodore Ahamed Amin Abdullah called the ICD owners to discuss why depots said they could no longer operate under the current tariff.

"The chairman asked for one month to hold discussions with all stakeholders and work out a solution. Responding to that request, BICDA leaders, including our chairman Khalilur Rahman, agreed to defer the suspension," he said.

CPA Secretary Mohammad Omar Faruk confirmed the development, adding that ICD owners assured authorities that container handling would continue as usual. "Once they submit their reasons and justification for a tariff revision, we will sit with all stakeholders and try to resolve the issue," he said.

Before the meeting, all 19 depots had notified clients that they would stop loading export cargo and handling empty containers from 11 December. Owners said they have been running at a loss because charges have remained unchanged for nine years, while labour wages and operational costs have climbed several times over that period.

BICDA's Ruhul Amin Sikder earlier clarified that the association had not issued any official directive, but individual depots had informed shipping lines and buyers that operations under the old rates were unsustainable.

Industry insiders warned that had the suspension gone ahead, all export shipments processed through the off-docks and the movement of empty containers would have halted, causing immediate disruption for export-oriented sectors, particularly garments, and rapidly worsening container congestion at Chattogram port.

Off-docks function as an extension of the port, handling all export cargo, most empty containers, and 65 categories of import goods. The 19 private ICDs have invested several thousand crore taka in these facilities and can store about 106,000 TEUs, nearly double the capacity of the port's own yards. Together, they handle around 2.2 million containers annually.

The conflict began in August, when BICDA proposed raising charges for stuffing, ground rent, lift-on/lift-off, documentation, and port-to-off-dock transport by 30–63%. Users strongly opposed the hike, and the matter eventually reached court, which stayed the revised tariff. The shipping ministry later ruled that no new rates could be implemented without Tariff Committee approval, leaving depots operating under the old charges.

Unable to secure a tariff revision, depot owners had planned a soft shutdown this week, quietly informing shipping lines not to send containers from tomorrow. Exporters' associations, including BGMEA and BKMEA, as well as agents and port authorities, were not formally notified.

Stakeholders emphasised that any stoppage would have immediately frozen export cargo processing and worsened port congestion if empty containers remained stuck at the terminals.