Saudi-based port operator Red Sea Gateway Terminal (RSGT) has come under fire from port users for alleged inefficiency and mismanagement at the Patenga Container Terminal (PCT) in Chittagong.

The Chittagong Customs Agents Association recently submitted a memorandum to the Chittagong Port Authority (CPA), citing persistent delays and operational shortcomings at the facility.

Signed by the association’s general secretary, Showkat Ali, the letter claimed that the terminal, which was handed over to RSGT to ease congestion and speed up trade flows, has instead caused bottlenecks.

According to the memo, activities such as LCL-container unstuffing and FCL-container delivery are being delayed due to inadequate storage space, a shortage of modern equipment, and unskilled labor. The association stated that this has led to congestion, with imported raw materials failing to reach export-oriented factories on time, thereby disrupting production.

The letter also objected to the collection of 15% VAT on labour wages at the terminal, a charge not applied at other CPA-operated facilities. It urged the port authority to intervene and stop the practice.

Former association leader Kazi Mahmud Imam Bilu echoed the complaints, saying RSGT was “operating with inefficient employees amid equipment shortage” in a space too small to manage cargo effectively.

RSGT, however, rejected the allegations. “We have resolved all the problems gradually. In reality, the problems do not exist,” said Syed Aref Sarwar Khurshed, the company’s head of commercial and public affairs, insisting the operator was delivering the “best services possible.”

PCT, the first Bangladeshi terminal run by a foreign operator, was designed to handle 369 TEUs daily but currently processes fewer than 200 TEUs, reportedly due to equipment and workforce constraints.