Chittagong Warehouses Ltd.

Following the partition of India in 1947, operational difficulties arose in the export of tea as all teas had to be dispatched through Chittagong instead of Calcutta. Balmer Lawrie and Company (the predecessor of Lawrie Group Plc, U. K.) who had considerable experience in tea warehousing was invited to construct a new warehouse. Chittagong Warehouses Ltd. (CWL), was formed for this purpose with agency houses having interests in Sylhet, as sponsors. The construction was handled with speed and efficiency under direct supervision of H. K. FitzGerald (then a young assistant in Balmer Lawrie and later Chairman of Camellia Plc). The new warehouse with an area of 65,000 square feet, was opened for business in January 1950 in Fouzderhat, outside Chittagong and included connection to the railway network and the port.

CWL was expanded in 2002 with additional storage space of 13,000 square feet. The facilities have also been upgraded through automation of its processes. CWL has been providing services to the Group for the last sixty years. The Group owns the controlling interest of in CWL.