Tk370cr ICD to ease Chattogram Port pressure

Factories in the Mirsarai National Special Economic Zone (NSEZ) currently depend on 21 Inland Container Depots (ICDs) in Chattogram for export container stuffing and other logistics services, requiring cargo to be transported to Chattogram before shipment. To reduce that dependence and support the growing import-export needs of the industrial hub, a new ICD is being built inside the NSEZ at an investment of around Tk370 crore.

The facility will handle around 400,000 TEUs of import, export and empty containers annually and is expected to begin full-scale commercial operations in the first quarter of 2027. Gas 1 Limited, a subsidiary of Instar, is developing the GAS 1 CFS & ICD on 25 acres of land in Zone-16 of the NSEZ.

Instar Director SNR Tawfiq said around 75% of the project’s main infrastructure work had already been completed, with construction materials for the steel structures having reached the site and installation work set to begin shortly. “The major infrastructure work is progressing rapidly. We are targeting commercial operations in the first quarter of 2027,” he said.

The project was initially estimated to cost around Tk350 crore, but the cost has risen to approximately Tk370 crore due to additional land development, foundation strengthening and other infrastructure requirements arising from the area’s soft soil conditions. The entire investment is being financed domestically.

The new ICD is expected to reduce the distance between factories and container-handling facilities, cutting transportation time and costs for manufacturers operating in and around Mirsarai. The facility will include a Container Freight Station shed covering around 325,000 square feet, where import-export cargo can be stored, containers opened and stuffed, and other logistics operations carried out.

Khairul Alam Suzan, former vice-president of the Bangladesh Freight Forwarders Association, said the project was a timely investment for Bangladesh’s logistics sector, noting that a Tk370 crore ICD with an annual handling capacity of 400,000 TEUs can play an important role in accelerating industrialisation and investment in Mirsarai, while reducing pressure on Chattogram Port and improving container transportation efficiency.

BGMEA Vice President Mohammad Rafique Chowdhury said the development of new ICDs would create alternative logistics facilities for exporters, particularly during port congestion or capacity constraints, and that having container-handling services closer to factories would help exporters reduce transportation-related delays. The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association is also developing a garment village on around 500 acres of land in the Mirsarai industrial area, expected to further increase demand for container and cargo-handling services.

Project manager of the GAS 1 CFS & ICD, Md Hasan Tareq, said Chattogram Port Authority has plans to develop a jetty around the National Economic Zone in the future, which could create an opportunity to transport cargo from the ICD to Chattogram Port by water, alongside plans to extend railway connectivity to the economic zone as part of the wider Dhaka-Chattogram rail network.

Instar officials said most government approvals and licences required for operating the ICD had already been obtained, including necessary approvals from the National Board of Revenue and customs authorities, and the company has already started discussions with several multinational and large domestic companies regarding use of the facility. The ICD is expected to directly employ around 1,000 people once fully operational, with additional indirect employment generated in transportation, warehousing, cargo handling and container-management services.