Biman waives demurrage on storage at Shahjalal Airport
The government yesterday made a decision to waive the demurrage costs on the storage of imported recycleables of garment items piled up at Hazrat Shahjalal AIRPORT TERMINAL (HSIA) warehouse.
Biman Bangladesh Airlines yesterday said it could supply the waiver to the garment recycleables that might be imported between March 26 and May 5.
"Since there is a lockdown," the national flag carrier said in a circular.
The move came following the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) applied to the Biman authorities seeking the waiver as a result of the coronavirus fallouts.
A whole lot of imported goods have been placed in the warehouse for many days as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
Currently, nearly 2,000 tonnes of imported cargoes are actually placed in the Biman warehouse as a result of slow delivery, up from its storage capacity of 800 tonnes.
Of the placed goods, 60 per cent are garment recycleables and the rest includes pharmaceuticals recycleables and spare parts.
The waiver ought to be extended to all other imported goods, said Kabir Ahmed, president of the Bangladesh Freight Forwarders Association.
The waiver decision on the garment recycleables was taken as the BGMEA applied earlier, said Mohibul Haque, secretary of the civil aviation and tourism ministry.
"We are preparing to extend the same facility to other imported goods stored in the airport warehouse."
The Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry has called for the waiver.
Currently, the warehouse management is releasing 190 tonnes of cargoes each day.
