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Congestion at Chittagong Seaport: Causes and Consequences. A case study in Malaysia

Purpose of the study: This study aims to examine the causes of seaport congestion at Chittagong seaport. Seaports are vital instruments of international trade and a key to the economic growth of any country. Seaport congestion is a significant issue faced by most of the seaport. Shipping lines carry the cargo from one seaport to another; seaport congestion faced at the one port has a detrimental effect on the economy and trade of the country.


Methodology: This study used the survey-based data collected design through convenience sampling from the port employees. The collected data were analysed with SmartPLS 3.2.1.


Main Findings: The results of importance-performance matrix analysis (IPMA) reveals that the three most important factors causing the congestion at seaport are information technology, equipment, and time.


Research implications: The study findings advocate that seaport authorities need to improve the information technology use at the seaport as well as the equipment utilised for handling the cargo. However, congestion issues can only be resolved by taking a holistic approach and involving all the stakeholders to improve the Chittagong port efficiency as well as bringing trade growth for the country.


The novelty of the study: Current work is that the data was collected from one seaport only but the analysis supported the arguments that the seaport equipment, labour, and customs significantly contributing to the seaport congestion. However, the impact of the infrastructure and information technology is insignificant on the seaport congestion as perceived by the study respondents.