Bhutan transit shipment begins trial run via Ctg port

Chattogram port on Wednesday night cleared the first transit shipment for Bhutan, which is expected to reach Burimari land port by this afternoon.

The 20-foot container, imported from Thailand by Bhutanese company Abit Trading, marks the start of a trial run for transporting Bhutanese cargo through Chattogram port and across Bangladesh under a bilateral agreement.

Bangladesh and Bhutan signed the "Agreement on the Movement of Traffic-in-Transit between the People's Republic of Bangladesh and the Royal Government of Bhutan" on March 22, 2023, followed by a protocol to implement the agreement.

Chittagong Port Authority Secretary Md Omar Faruk said, "The Bhutan transit consignment was released after all customs formalities were completed."

Md Shahidul Alam Khan, managing director of NM Trading Corporation—the Bangladeshi clearing and forwarding (C&F) agent for Bhutan's cargo—said, "A prime-mover trailer carrying the container left Chattogram port on Wednesday evening and is now heading to Burimari land port. We expect the cargo to reach Burimari by Friday (today) afternoon."

He added that from Burimari, the container will be transported to Bhutan through Indian territory. According to documents, the container holds 6,572 kg of consumer goods, including iced tea, shampoo, dried palm fruit, jelly, candy, and orange juice.

One year after signing the agreement and protocol, a Bangladesh–Bhutan secretary-level trade meeting held in Bhutan in April 2024 decided to conduct two trial runs of transit shipments.

Under the first trial run, a vessel named MV HR Hera carrying the transit container arrived at Chattogram port on September 22 from Laem Chabang port in Thailand, said Md Shahidul Alam of the C&F firm.

"The release of the consignment was delayed because it took time to get approval from various government offices," he added.

On November 17, the National Board of Revenue (NBR) issued an order to complete customs procedures for Bhutan's consignment. On November 20, the Road Transport and Highways Division sent a letter to the NBR regarding tolls and charges for transit shipments.

Following this, the C&F agent NM Trading Corporation began handling Bhutan's cargo.

REVENUE FROM TRIAL TRANSIT SHIPMENT

Three government offices earned a total of Tk 1,01,713 from the trial transit shipment.

Chattogram Custom House received Tk 68,874 in charges and fees, including VAT, covering document processing, transhipment, security, escort, administrative fees, and container scanning.

The Road Transport and Highways Division collected Tk 16,792 as road toll, including VAT, while the C&F agent paid Tk 16,047 to the Chittagong Port Authority for unloading the container and moving it to the yard.

ROUTE FOR TRIAL TRANSIT

According to the bilateral agreement, the shipment route runs from Laem Chabang in Thailand to Chattogram in Bangladesh, then to Burimari land port, onward to Changrabandha in West Bengal, India, through the Siliguri Corridor and Hasimara-Jaigon, and finally to Phuentsholing in Bhutan. Earlier, five trial runs  of Indian transit shipments were conducted using Chattogram and Mongla ports.

The first trial took place in 2020 when the vessel MV Shejyoti arrived at Chattogram port on July 21 carrying four containers of Indian iron rods and pulses, later sent to Tripura and Assam via Akhaura land port.

Following the 13th India-Bangladesh Joint Group of Customs meeting in March 2022, both countries agreed to conduct four more trial runs.

Two of these were held in August 2022 through Mongla port, and the other two were done through Chattogram port in the same year.

After these five trial runs, the NBR issued a permanent order in April 2023 to start regular transit operations, although regular shipments have not yet begun.