CHATTOGRAM, APR 7: The decision to lease out the New Mooring Container Terminal (NCT) of the Chattogram Port Authority (CPA) remains in limbo despite receiving clearance from the country's highest court.
The previous Awami League government had decided to lease the terminal to Dubai-based DP World for operation. The interim government later moved forward with the same plan. However, as authorities began steps to finalise the agreement, Chattogram port workers launched a strong movement against the move, while a lawyer filed a case challenging the decision.
Amid the protests and legal challenge, the interim government halted the leasing process. At the same time, DP World sought additional time to review the draft concession agreement, according to the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA).
On March 12, the Appellate Division upheld a High Court ruling dismissing a challenge to the process of appointing a foreign operator for NCT. The order was delivered by a four-member bench led by Chief Justice Zubayer Rahman Chowdhury. Following the verdict, state lawyers said there was no legal barrier to signing an agreement with a foreign operator.
Despite the legal clearance, the current government has yet to decide on signing the agreement with DP World, as it appears reluctant to risk reigniting worker protests.
Authorities at the CPA and the Public Private Partnership Authority (PPPA) have remained silent on the issue.
Amid the protests and legal challenge, the interim govt halted the leasing process
The proposed deal is a government-to-government (G2G) arrangement between Bangladesh and the United Arab Emirates. Existing laws, including the Public-Private Partnership Act and CPA regulations, allow foreign operators to manage port facilities under such arrangements.
Initially, the government estimated the investment at Tk 2 billion, but later assessments put the requirement at around Tk 24 billion. The Dubai government agreed to invest the amount to modernise and operate the terminal.
The process was challenged in the High Court by the Bangladesh Youth Economists Forum. A split verdict by a two-judge bench led to the matter being referred to a third judge, Justice Zafar Ahmed, who later ruled that the government had followed due legal procedures and that there was no ambiguity preventing the agreement.
NCT, completed in 2007, is the port's main workhorse. Built with significant investment in infrastructure and equipment, it now handles around 1.3 million TEUs annually, exceeding its designed capacity of 1.1 million TEUs. It remains the most profitable and efficient terminal under the CPA.
Currently operated by Chittagong Dry Dock Limited, an entity of the Bangladesh Navy, the terminal will continue under its management until any foreign operator takes over.
Chattogram Port handles more than 90 per cent of the country's containerised trade, making its terminals central to the national supply chain.
Earlier, the government pursued plans to involve foreign operators in port terminals. A memorandum of understanding (MoU) for Bay Terminal 1 was signed in March 2018 with Enterprise of Singapore, followed by another MoU in July 2019 with DP World for Terminal 2. The Patenga Container Terminal has already been handed over to Saudi-based Red Sea Gateway Terminal International.
