DP World to operate Ctg port’s New Mooring Container Terminal

After a lengthy process marked by controversy and opposition, Bangladesh today signed a 15-year concession agreement with UAE-based DP World to operate and maintain the New Mooring Container Terminal (NCT) and its overflow container yard at Chattogram port.

The agreement was signed at the Chattogram Port Authority (CPA) headquarters this afternoon.

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CPA Chairman Rear Admiral S M Moniruzzaman and Essa Kazim, chairman of DP World, signed the agreement on behalf of their respective sides.

The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, served as the transaction adviser for the deal.

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Govt approves 15-year deal to hand over Chattogram Port’s NCT to foreign operator

Local company Saif Powertec Ltd had been operating the terminal for years. After its contract expired on July 6 last year, Chittagong Dry Dock Ltd, a Bangladesh Navy-run company, took over its operation.

The process to appoint an international operator for the NCT began in 2019.

In March 2023, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs gave in-principle approval to appoint an international private operator under a public-private partnership framework.

The interim government later revived the initiative and selected DP World for the project. The process, however, stalled amid strong opposition and a workers' strike earlier this year.

The current government subsequently resumed negotiations over the proposed concession.

Built in 2007 at a cost of around Tk 2,000 crore, the NCT has five jetties and 14 of the Chattogram port's 18 quay-side gantry cranes.

More than 40 percent of the port's container handling takes place through the terminal.

The move to hand over the NCT to a foreign operator has faced opposition from the Chattogram Port Protection Committee. On October 5, the committee staged a sit-in in front of the port headquarters and warned of shutting down port operations if the deal with a foreign operator was finalised.

The government has said the agreement will help reduce vessel turnaround time and container dwell time, lowering logistics costs for importers and exporters.

It expects sectors such as readymade garments, agricultural products, processed goods and light engineering to benefit from improved port efficiency.