Chittagong Port remain 68th among 100 busiest ones despite rise in container handling

Chittagong Port has retained its 68th position for the second consecutive year in the list of the world’s 100 busiest container ports.

Container handling at the port increased by 4.1 per cent in 2025.

Despite the growth, however, its position in the global ranking did not improve. During the same period, combined container handling at the world’s top 100 ports increased by 6.3 per cent.

The London-based shipping publication Lloyd’s List has published its “One Hundred Ports 2026” ranking based on container handling data for 2025.

According to port data, Chittagong Port handled 3.409 million TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) in 2025, compared with 3.275 million TEUs in 2024. This represents an increase of around 4 per cent.

In reality, however, Chittagong Port’s growth rate during the period was lower than the average growth in container handling among the world’s top 100 ports.

Lloyd’s List said in its publication that although growth at Chittagong has been limited, major investments by APM Terminals, MSC and Red Sea Gateway are changing the future outlook of Bangladesh’s main container port.

The Lloyd’s List ranking is based on a comparison of the number of containers handled by ports. It is not intended to assess the quality of port services. However, container-handling volumes provide an indication of the level of economic activity in different regions, as industrial raw materials and high-value goods are imported and exported in containers.

China’s dominance of global container handling continued this year. Shanghai Port topped the ranking. It handled 55 million TEUs in 2025, nearly 7 per cent more than in 2024.

Singapore ranked second, handling 44.6 million TEUs in 2025. Its container-handling volume grew by 8.60 per cent from the previous year.

China’s Ningbo-Zhoushan Port ranked third, handling 43.8 million TEUs. Container handling at the port grew by 11.60 per cent. Six of the world’s top 10 ports are in China.

Overall, the world’s top 100 ports handled 792.2 million TEUs in 2025. Chinese ports alone accounted for more than 40 per cent of this volume. China’s dominance as the global hub of container shipping therefore remains firmly intact.

Two Indian ports made the list of South Asia’s leading container ports. Mundra Port ranked 25th, while Jawaharlal Nehru Port ranked 30th. Pakistan’s Karachi Port ranked 84th. Chattogram is therefore 16 places ahead of Karachi.

Another major container port in the region, Sri Lanka’s Colombo Port, ranked 29th.

Among South Asian ports, Colombo, Mundra and Jawaharlal Nehru are ranked above Chittagong, while Karachi is below it.

Chittagong Port has regularly featured in the list of the world’s top 100 container ports. Nearly 99 per cent of the country’s seaborne container traffic passes through this port, while the remaining roughly 1 per cent is handled by Mongla Port.

The ranking of ports by container volumes was first published by a company called Cargo Systems. It was later published by Containerisation International and, for more than a decade now, by Lloyd’s List. Chattogram ranked 95th in 2009.

Over the past decade, Chittagong’s best position in the Lloyd’s List ranking was 58th. The port reached that position in the ranking published in 2020. Although Chittagong climbed 37 places during this period, it has failed to sustain that progress in recent years, despite an increase in container-handling volumes.

Amirul Haque, president of the Chattogram Chamber, told Prothom Alo that a major share of the country’s economic activity takes place through Chittagong Port. Despite various challenges, container handling has increased every year. He said the growth rate could rise further if the fuel crisis is overcome and port and customs services are improved.

Amirul Haque further said the encouraging aspect is that domestic and foreign investment is once again coming into Chittagong Port. New terminals are also being developed. Once they become operational, the port’s container-handling capacity will increase.

The key question for Chittagong now is not simply how to increase container handling, but how to expand its capacity faster than its global and regional competitors.

Analysts believe it remains to be seen how far Chittagong can advance with the help of new terminals and investments by foreign operators.