What Summit Alliance Port does

Summit Alliance Port Limited (SAPL) is Bangladesh's largest private-sector off-dock container facility, publicly listed on the Dhaka Stock Exchange and Chittagong Stock Exchange (ticker SAPORTL). Founded in 2003 as a joint venture between Summit Group and Alliance Holdings Limited, the company operates three off-dock facilities in Chattogram (East, West, North) handling approximately 22.50% of Bangladesh's containerized export volume and 10.50% of import volume. Its core services include Inland Container Depot (ICD) operations, Container Freight Station (CFS) services, import handling with customs clearance, value-added services (stuffing/stripping, consolidation), container repair (MNR), transportation, leasing, and truck parking. SAPL has developed and operates the first private-sector Inland Water Container Terminal (IWCT) in Bangladesh at Muktarpur, Munshiganj on the Dhaleswari river, which provides multi-modal inland waterway connectivity and was authorized in 2020 to handle 37 categories of bulk and break-bulk cargo.

SAPL operates on a transaction-fee revenue model, charging for container handling, storage, stuffing/stripping, customs processing, transportation, and facility leasing. Its underlying technology consists of an in-house software development team that built proprietary operational and financial automation systems for off-dock and river terminal activities, including customs-bonded storage facilities with embedded Bangladesh Customs personnel. The company's go-to-market is enterprise B2B field sales targeting global shipping lines (Maersk, MSC, CMA CGM, Hapag Lloyd, ONE, OOCL, Yang Ming, China Shipping, APL), freight forwarders (Kuehne+Nagel, DAMCO, UPS, DSV, Yusen), and Bangladeshi import/export trading companies across the RMG, textile, and industrial manufacturing verticals. Through its wholly-owned Indian subsidiary SAPEGIL, SAPL became the first Bangladeshi company to manage port terminals in a foreign country under a 30-year PPP with India's Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI), operating the Garden Reach Terminal in Kolkata and Gaighat/Kalughat terminals in Patna.

Revenue is generated through diversified transaction streams across ICD/CFS operations, river terminal handling, inland waterway transport, container repair, and ancillary leasing and parking services. The company carries a long-standing AA2 credit rating from the Credit Rating Agency of Bangladesh (CRAB) since 2008 and pays regular cash dividends (12% in FY2022-23), indicating stable cash generation. SAPL's customer base is anchored by global shipping lines and freight forwarders, with underlying cargo volumes tied to Bangladesh's diversified export base (RMG, jute, seafood) and broad import mix (cotton, petroleum, capital machinery, chemicals, food grains), which provides end-market diversification even as counterparties are concentrated.

Name

Summit Alliance Port

Legal name

Summit Alliance Port Limited

Website

https://saplbd.com

Company type

Public

Founded year

2003

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

SAPL is Bangladesh's largest private-sector off-dock container facility, publicly listed on DSE/CSE, handling ~22.50% of national containerized exports. It serves global shipping lines, freight forwarders, and Bangladeshi import/export companies through ICD, CFS, river terminal, transportation, and container repair services across Bangladesh and India.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Port Logistics Services

NAICS

Port and Harbor Operations (488310), Marine Cargo Handling (48832), Support Activities for Water Transportation (4883)

SIC

Arrangement Of Transportation Of Freight & Cargo (4731), Water Transportation (4400)

akta.pro primary industry

Inland Container Depots (ICD) / Inland Ports (TLALAJAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Inland / River Container Terminals (Barge-Served) (TLAHAAAD), Gateway Container Terminals (Import/Export) (TLAHAAAB), Warehousing, CFS & Bonded Storage for General Cargo (Within Terminal) (TLAHADAI)

Keywords

• Container depot services
• Inland container depot
• Container freight station
• Port logistics services
• River terminal operations

Headquarters

HQ city

Dhaka

HQ country

Bangladesh

HQ region

Asia

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. ICD (Inland Container Depot) Services: Handling temporary empty and laden containers, loading and unloading general export and import goods, and containers under custom clearance. Primary revenue stream from container handling, storage, and processing fees.
2. CFS (Container Freight Station) Services: Stuffing and stripping of containers, consolidation and desegregation of cargo, temporary storage of cargo and containers. Revenue generated from freight station operations and cargo handling services.
3. River Terminal Operations: Off-dock services and cargo transportation via inland waterways through Muktarpur Terminal. Revenue from handling bulk, break-bulk, and containerized cargo through river transport.
4. Container Repair (MNR): Maintenance and repair of container units services.
5. Transportation Services: Transit operations by rail or road to and from serving ports, inland container vessel operations.
6. Leasing: Warehouse and facility leasing services.
7. Truck Parking: Truck parking facilities at off-dock locations.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Summit Alliance Port Limited operates off-dock container depot and inland container depot (ICD) facilities in Bangladesh and India. The company provides container freight station (CFS) services, inland water container terminal (IWCT) operations, import handling, container repair (MNR), and related logistics services including transportation, leasing, and truck parking.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Inland Container Depot (ICD) Services
• Container Freight Station (CFS) Services
• Muktarpur River Terminal (IWCT)
• India Container Terminal Operations
• Import Services
• Container Repair Services (MNR)
• Transportation and Truck Parking

Quantifiable outcome

• Handles 22.50% of Bangladesh's containerized export volume and 10.50% of import volume
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers17 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship and minor.

• Pristine Logistics & Infraprojects Limited (PLIL)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 10 September 2023SAPL signed MoU with Pristine Logistics & Infraprojects Limited to form a Joint Venture for developing Rail-Linked Inland Container Depots (ICDs), Container Freight Stations (CFS), and Multi-Modal Logistics Parks at strategically important locations in Bangladesh. PLIL is one of the largest integrated Rail Terminal Operators in India, operational since 2010, operating five logistics parks in India and Nepal.
• Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 5 November 2018First-ever PPP between IWAI and a Bangladeshi company. SAPL's subsidiary Summit Alliance Port East Gateway (SAPEGIL) took over management of three river terminals - Garden Reach Terminal in Kolkata and Gaighat and Kalughat Terminals in Patna - for 30 years on a supply, operate, and maintain (SOM) model. Revenue sharing arrangement: 61.70% to SAPEGIL and 38.30% to IWAI from seventh year.
• Ispahani GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint venture partnership with Ispahani Group to establish Ispahani Summit Alliance Terminal Limited in 2017, a new off-dock facility to cater to Bangladesh's growing export and import volumes.
• Alliance Holdings LimitedcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAlliance Holdings Limited, led by Jowher Rizvi, partnered with Summit Group in 1997 to enter the Off-Dock business. OCL was merged with SAPL in 2012. Alliance Holdings remains a major sponsor and nominates directors to SAPL's board.
• Summit GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSummit Group, led by Muhammed Aziz Khan, partnered with Alliance Holdings to establish SAPL in 2003. Summit Group is Bangladesh's largest infrastructure conglomerate with interests in power, ports, telecommunications, and real estate. SAPL is a publicly listed concern of Summit Group.
• Summit Power International LimitedminorOthersPart of the same Summit Group conglomerate. Muhammed Aziz Khan is founder and Chairman of both entities. Shared corporate infrastructure and brand association.
• Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSAPL subsidiary SAPEGIL operates Garden Reach Terminal in Kolkata, Kalughat Terminal in Patna, and Gaighat Terminal under the 30-year PPP. The company exceeded first year cargo handling targets by 60% in just 8 months of operations.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI): Philippines-based global container terminal operator with strong emerging-market footprint across Asia, Africa, and the Americas. Comparable as a container terminal specialist serving global shipping lines in developing-economy ports, with similar customer overlap to SAPL.
• Chittagong Port Authority (CPA): Bangladesh's primary state-owned seaport authority operating Chattogram Port, the gateway port that SAPL's off-dock facilities directly support. Comparable as the principal port infrastructure operator in the same geography, though CPA handles deep-sea container terminals while SAPL specializes in inland hinterland depot operations off that port.
• APM Terminals: Global container terminal operator and Maersk subsidiary operating container ports and inland depots worldwide. Comparable as a major container terminal operator serving shipping line customers (Maersk is also a SAPL customer), and operates ICD/CFS-equivalent facilities globally including in South Asia.
• DP World: Global port operator headquartered in the UAE with terminal operations across emerging markets. Comparable as a multi-national terminal operator competing for shipping line volume with full-service container handling capabilities including inland depots and CFS-equivalent services.
• PSA International: Singapore-based global container terminal operator and one of the world's largest port operators. Comparable as a terminal-focused operator working with all major shipping lines and providing hinterland container handling services analogous to SAPL's ICD/CFS model.

Regional players

• Qasim International Container Terminal (QICT): Pakistan's principal private container terminal at Port Qasim, operated under PPP with comparable concession structure and shipping line customer base. Comparable as a South Asian private-sector container terminal operator serving similar textile/RMG-export and general-cargo trade flows.
• Kolkata Port Trust (Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port): Indian government port authority operating the Kolkata dock system including the Garden Reach area where SAPL's subsidiary SAPEGIL operates under PPP with IWAI. Directly comparable as the host port authority for SAPL's India terminal operations and a major regional container handling counterpart.
• Mongla Port Authority: Bangladesh's second-largest seaport and an emerging alternative to Chattogram Port for Bangladesh containerized trade. Comparable as a competing Bangladesh gateway port whose growth and hinterland connectivity improvements could divert volumes away from SAPL's Chattogram-centric platform.
• Adani Ports and SEZ Limited: India's largest port operator with extensive container terminal, multi-modal logistics and ICD operations. Highly comparable given overlapping South Asia geography, similar multi-modal platform philosophy, and shared Indian government relationships that SAPL accesses via the IWAI PPP.
• Payra Port Authority: Bangladesh's third seaport, under active development as a deep-sea container gateway. Comparable as another competing Bangladesh gateway port whose continued capacity build-out could shift shipper routing and reduce SAPL's near-monopoly on off-dock services tied to Chattogram.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/watch?v=K21SXPJXOto
• Facebookfacebook.com/saplbd
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/summit-alliance-port-ltd.

Compliance7 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Summit Alliance Port