It was formerly
located at Chalna, about 11 miles (18 km) upstream on the Pusur Rive
,
but it is now located 48 km south of Khulna
city, as
established on 11 December 1954. The Port is surrounded as well as well
protected by the Sundarban mangrove forest. The name Mongla originated from Mongla River presently known as Mongla Nulla.
Mongla River originated from Pussur and Rampal is situated beside Pussur.
The anchorage was shifted to Mongla in 1954 as the place could accommodate
sea-going vessels with greater draughts.
During the Pakistan period, the administration of the port was under a port
director, whose main office was at Khulna. The port is situated at the confluence of the Pashur River
and the
. It lies about 62
miles (100 km) north of the Bay of Bengal and is connected to the major
inland river ports and to the rail terminal at Khulna. It is very near to
Sundarbans. Kolkata(formerly Calcutta) and Haldia in India and Mongla and Chittagong
in Bangladesh are the principal seaports on the world's largest Ganges
delta.The port has trade links with almost all major ports of the world,
although vessels arriving here are mostly from ports of Asia, the Middle East,
Australia, Europe and North America and the ships rarely come to Mongla from
the countries of Latin America or Africa.The port is open
for 24 hours and up to 225 metre long ships can enter into the port for
discharging cargo.
A constraint free large channel is available for anchorage and loading/unloading
facilities on both sides for 33 ships at a time.
The port's chief exports include jute, leather, tobacco , frozen fish, and shrimp; major imports include grain, cement, fertilizer, coal , and wood pulp .
Its population as of 2001 was 56,746.
