Shah Amanat International Airport,Chittagong airport

Shah Amanat International Airport  named after an Islamic saint, serves Bangladesh's south-eastern port city of Chittagong. It was formerly known as MA Hannan International Airport but was renamed on 2 April 2005 by the Government of Bangladesh. The move was controversial since the previous name honored a member of the Awami League who were the opposition party at the time.

1 July 2005: Flight BG048 from Dubai to Dhaka via Chittagong skidded off runway 23 onto the grass at Shah Amanat International Airport while landing during heavy rain. The right-hand undercarriage of the McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30 caught fire. Ten passengers were injured while exiting the aircraft. An enquiry found no faults with the aircraft and put the blame for the accident on the incompetence of the pilot, whose employment was later terminated

Known as Chittagong Airfield during World War II, the airport was used as a combat airfield, as well as a supply point and photographic reconnaissance base by the United States Army Air Force Tenth Air Force during the Burma Campaign 1944-1945.

Known American units assigned to Chittagong were:

80th Fighter Group, flew P-38 Lightning fighters over Burma between March 1944 and February 1945.

8th Reconnaissance Group, between October and December 1944 (various detachments)

4th Combat Cargo Group, flew C-46 Commando transports between January and June 1945.

From the airport, the 4th CCG C-46's flew supplies and ammunition which were air-dropped to the advancing Allied forces on the ground. At the end of June, control of the airport was returned to local authorities.

Airlines Destinations

Air Arabia Sharjah

Bahrain Air Bahrain

Biman Bangladesh Airlines Abu Dhabi,Bangkok-Suvarnabhumi, Cox's Bazar, Dhaka, Dubai,Jeddah,Muscat, Riyadh,Dammam,Doha

GMG Airlines Kolkata, Dhaka, Cox's Bazaar; Bangkok-Suvarnabhumi

Flydubai Dubai

RAK Airways Ras Al Khaimah

Regent Airways Dhaka

Oman Air Muscat

United Airways Dhaka

Port of Chittagong

Port of Chittagong is the largest seaport in Bangladesh, located by the estuary of the Karnaphuli River in Patenga, near the city of Chittagong. It is a deepwater seaport dominated by trade in containerised manufactured products (especially ready made garments), raw materials and to a lesser extent passengers. It is one of the two main sea port of Bangladesh - most of the export and import of the country are handled via this port. Window berthing system was introduced at the seaport on August 6, 2007, enabling the sea port to provide the arrival and departure times of all ships. Two berths at the port terminal are kept in reserve for emergency. In 2006 the port handled 27 million tonnes of cargo and 0.8 million tonnes of containers.

Facilities

For Ocean-Going Vessels:

General Cargo Berths ----------------- 12

Container Berths --------------------- 8

Specialised Berths for Bulk handling:

Dolphin Oil Jetty (For POL) ---------- 1

Grain Silo Jetty --------------------- 1

Cement Clinker Jetty ----------------- 1

TSP Jetty ---------------------------- 1

CUFL Jetty --------------------------- 1

KAFCO Urea Jetty --------------------- 1

Ammonia Jetty ------------------------ 1

Repair Berths

Dry Dock Jetty ----------------------- 2

Mooring Berths

River Mooring ------------------------ 10

For Inland Coasters and Vessels:

Jetty Berths (For (POL) -------------- 1

Concrete Berth (For Grain Handling) -- 1

Pontoon Berths (For POL) ------------- 3

Pontoon Berths (For Cement) ---------- 1

Single Point Mooring ----------------- 10

Early history

The history of Chittagong port dates back to the fourth century B.C. Malayan history chronicles the journey of the sailor Buddha Gupta from Chittagong to Malaya in the 4th century B.C.[2] The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea documents the existence of Chittagong port in the ancient times. Chittagong derives its name from the Arabic word Shetgang (Shet means delta and Gang the river). The Arab traders considered Chittagong to be the delta of the Ganges.

Chittagong port has been mentioned in the works of Ptolemy, Fa-hien, Hieu-en tsng, lbn Battuta. This was an important port used by the traders from the Middle East, China, Turkey, Europe to trade with this part of the world.

During the 9th century the activities of the port increased tremendously as the Arab traders started using the port as their base port. They used to call the port "Samunda". The port was under their control at the time.

The 16th century saw the arrival of the Portuguese. Joaoda Silveria was the first Portuguese Captain to reach the port. He arrived with his ship “LOPO SOANA” in 1517. The Portuguese named the Port PORTE GRANDE (a great Port ). The records show that the Porte Grande offered easy access and safe anchorage to ships of 20 feet draught.

It remained a port during Moghul time. Later in early 19th century the British took control of the Chittagong port.The port of Chittagong became a natural outlet for the Northeastern regions of the then British-India that led to the enactment of Port Commissioner’s Act of 1887. At that time the facilities of the port consisted of five wooden and one pontoon jetties. In the year 1889-90 the port handled exports totalling 1.25 lac tons

Economy of Chittagong

The sea-borne exports consist chiefly of ready made garments, knitwear, frozen food, jute and jute products, leather and leather products, tea, and chemical products. There is also a large trade by country boats, bringing chiefly cotton, rice, spices, sugar and tobacco. Sailing ships built in Chittagong include the Betsey, the Argo, and the Mersey. 

Ship breaking was introduced to the area in 1969. This industry is concentrated at Fauzdarhat, a 16 kilometers (10 mi) long beach 20 kilometers (12 mi) north-west of Chittagong. Chittagong is also home to a large number of industries from small to heavy. Around 40% of the heavy industrial activities of the country is located in Chittagong city and adjacent areas, which include dry dock, Dock Yards, Oil Refinery, Steel Mills, Power Plant, Cement clinker factory, automobile industries, pharmaceutical plants, chemical plants, cable manufacturing, textiles mills, jute mills, urea fertilizer factory along with other private sector medium size industrial developments and activities. A Korean company, Youngone Corporation, has established a special Korean Export Processing Zone (KEPZ) in the port city of Chittagong. The KEPZ is built on a land area of nearly 1,000 hectares and is expected to attract foreign direct investment worth $1 billion. There is as well a Karnaphuli Export Processing Zone, with the same acronym (KEPZ).

The city of Chittagong had been long neglected by the Bangladeshi government, until the turn of the century when exports grew by 21.13% to an all time high of $8.02 billion. Chittagong is the site of Bangladesh's busiest port which handles 80% of all Bangladeshi imports and exports. The strategic location of the port has allowed for interest by investors to help improve the city. Major business houses of Bangladesh such as Galacticos Incorporation, M.M. Ispahani, T.K. Group, A.K. Khan and Co. , Habib Group, PHP Group, KDS Group, S. Alam Group, Mostafa Group and DC Enterprise are all residents of Chittagong.

Most of the International trading are believed to be done from Khatunganj & Asadganj area. The Sawdagars (traditional businessman) of Chittagong still controls the entire Bangladesh Market in this import oriented country. Agrabad is often known as Chittagong's chief commercial region. Banks like HSBC, Standard Chartered, Citibank, Dutch Bangla Bank, BRAC Bank, Dhaka Bank Limited, Bangladesh Bank, Eastern Bank, Sonali Bank, Rupali Bank and all other banks operating in Bangladesh have offices in and around the city. Numerous investments have allowed for a construction boom similar to Dhaka. Over the years, scores of hotels, shopping centers, and other modern buildings have sprung up to change the face of the city. Ongoing developments include various multi-story shopping malls and a Chittagong World Trade Centre.

The Chittagong Development Authority (CDA) is primarily responsible for framing and implementing the Master Plan for city development. The CDA makes and implements plans for area development (i.e. commercial areas, residential areas and recreational areas) and city road development in accordance with the approved Master Plan for the city. In 2000, manufacturing industry of Chittagong contributed 15% of the total GDP. According to CityMayors Statistics Chittagong registered a GDP of $16 billion in 2005 with an annual growth rate of 6.3%. It is estimated that in 2020 the GDP of Chittagong will be $39 billion.