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[Saif]

Ministry opts to hand over New Mooring Container Terminal to CPA

The authorities have decided in principle to let the Chittagong Port Authority (CPA) take charge of the New Mooring Container Terminal (NCT) for six months amid opposition from major political parties to appointing a foreign operator.

www.thedailystar.net

Ministry opts to hand over New Mooring Container Terminal to CPA

Currently, a private operator is running the New Mooring Container Terminal, the largest terminal at Chattogram port. Its contract will expire on July 6. Photo: RAJIB RAIHAN

The authorities have decided in principle to let the Chittagong Port Authority (CPA) take charge of the New Mooring Container Terminal (NCT) for six months amid opposition from major political parties to appointing a foreign operator.

Currently, a private operator is running the NCT, the largest terminal at Chattogram port. Its contract will expire on July 6.

With the deadline nearing, the Ministry of Shipping held a meeting last Wednesday where it decided in principle to hand over operations to the CPA, according to an official document.

Subsequently, the CPA has sought final approval from the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs through the shipping ministry.

In a letter, the CPA pointed to the contract's looming expiry, the lengthy process of selecting a new operator, and the need to keep external trade running smoothly. It urged swift approval in the national interest.

The NCT has been making headlines in recent months over who would run it.

The government said that bringing in a well-known foreign operator would increase the overall efficiency of the port.

But parties including the BNP, Jamaat-e-Islami, and left-leaning groups oppose the idea, arguing that giving control of a key terminal to a foreign firm would endanger national security and sovereignty.

Port workers have also been protesting, saying the move would make little economic sense as the terminal is "profitable and fully functional".

Built at a cost of Tk 2,000 crore, the 950-metre terminal was completed in 2007 by the CPA.

It has five jetties — four for ocean-going container ships and one for smaller vessels that connect to Pangaon port in Dhaka.

The Daily Star approached top CPA officials for comment, but to no avail.

CPA spokesperson and acting secretary Md Nasir Uddin did not answer repeated phone calls.​

 

[Bilal9]

Dhaka Civil Aviation Air Traffic Controllers Video

 

[Saif]

Talks underway for navy to operate new mooring terminal with port authority's support

The matter was discussed in a meeting at Chittagong Port in the presence of Shipping Adviser Brigadier General (retd) M Sakhawat Hossain.

en.prothomalo.com

Talks underway for navy to operate new mooring terminal with port authority's support

Special Correspondent Chattogram
Published: 28 Jun 2025, 22: 59

Photo shows containers at the New Mooring Container Terminal (NCT) in Chittagong Port. Sourv Das

The authorities concerned on Saturday discussed about operating the New Mooring Container Terminal (NCT) in Chittagong Port by the Bangladesh Navy temporarily with the assistance of the Chittagong Port Authority before handing over the facility to foreign operators.

The matter was discussed in a meeting at Chittagong Port in the presence of Shipping Adviser Brigadier General (retd) M Sakhawat Hossain.

A source close to the government told Prothom Alo that talks were held about the Navy operating NCT with port authority's support. A decision expected to be finalised within the next two to three days.

When asked, port secretary Md Omar Faruq told Prothom Alo that the port authority would formally inform the people concerned once a decision regarding NCT’s operation is finalised.

Local firms have been operating the terminal for 17 years. The current operator, Saif Powertec Limited, will see its contract expire on 6 July. The port authority had sought government approval to manage the terminal directly after the contract ends.

The shipping adviser visited the port this morning, accompanied by planning advisor Wahiduddin Mahmud. Later, they participated in a meeting with port officials at the port building, where the New Mooring Terminal issue was discussed. Lutfey Siddiqui, special envoy on international affairs to chief adviser, was also present at the meeting.

This decision is likely to come at a time when a road march is ongoing under the banner of the “Anti-Imperialist Patriotic People,” a platform formed by leftist parties and organisations. As part of a two-day programme, the march reached the Customs intersection near Gate No. 4 of the port, which was followed by a rally. The platform placed four demands, including no handover of the New Mooring Terminal and Chattogram Port management to foreign entities.

New Mooring Terminal, the largest container terminal in the country, has five jetties. Four ocean-going vessels and one inland waterway vessel can dock simultaneously. Various activities, including loading and unloading containers from ships, transferring, and storing containers, take place there.

A process started during the tenure of the Awami League government to hand over the New Mooring Container Terminal (NCT) to Dubai-based DP World. The current interim government has advanced this process, and a formal agreement is expected to be signed in November.

The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of World Bank Group, is mediating as the transaction advisor for the terminal on behalf of the Bangladesh government. So, the Bangladesh Navy is expected to operate the terminal until the agreement is finalised.​

 

[Saif]

‘Conspiracy underway to destabilise Chittagong Port’

A conspiracy is underway to destabilise the Chittagong Port, leaders of the Sramik Karmachari Oikya Parishad (SKOP), a platform of staff and workers, alleged on Monday. They made this remark at a workers’ rally held at the gate of Chittagong Port around 11:00 am today. The rally was organised...

en.prothomalo.com

SKOP’s rally
‘Conspiracy underway to destabilise Chittagong Port’

Staff Correspondent Chattogram
Published: 30 Jun 2025, 17: 42

Chattogram division unit of Jatiyatabadi Sramik Dal president AM Nazim Uddin addresses the rally, organised by Sramik Karmachari Oikya Parishad, a platform of staff and workers of Chittagong Port, at the gate of Chittagong Port on 30 June 2025 Prothom Alo

A conspiracy is underway to destabilise the Chittagong Port, leaders of the Sramik Karmachari Oikya Parishad (SKOP), a platform of staff and workers, alleged on Monday.

They made this remark at a workers’ rally held at the gate of Chittagong Port around 11:00 am today. The rally was organised on demand of cancelling the lease of the New Mooring Container Terminal (NCT).

President of Chattogram division unit of Jatiyatabadi Sramik Dal, a body of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), AM Nazim Uddin presided over the rally.

Speaking at the event, Trade Union Centre’s (TUC) Chattogram district unit president Tapan Dutta, also a member of the Labour Reform Commission, said conspirators hidden within Chittagong Port have begun plotting to create instability.

He observed that over the last 10 days, three different decisions have been made about the port. At times it has been said that the contract with Saif Powertec would be extended by three months. Then it was said that the Port Authority would operate the NCT themselves for the next six months. Later, it was stated that the Navy would be assigned to manage the port.

Labour leader Tapan Dutta added that in the past 10 days, the government and port authorities have taken inconsistent decisions regarding NCT, which indicates that certain port officials are more focused on creating instability than managing the port properly.

The rally, moderated by SKOP joint convener Zahed Uddin, was also addressed by Chittagong Port CBA’s former general secretary and Chattogram Division unit of the Jatiyatabadi Sramik Dal general secretary Kazi Sheikh Nurullah Bahar, Bangladesh Labour Federation president SK Khoda Toton; Samajtantrik Sramik Front leader Mohin Uddin; and BLF organising secretary Rabiul Haque, among others.

During the meeting, the labour leaders strongly criticised the government’s decision to lease NCT to the Dubai-based multinational company DP World.

They said that Chittagong Port is the country’s main commercial gateway and the backbone of the economy.

The labour leaders pointed out that the NCT, built entirely with domestic funding, is equipped with modern technology and stands as the country’s most successful container terminal.

According to them, any attempt to hand it over to a foreign operator is against national interests and an act of extreme self-destruction.​

 

[Bilal9]

‘Conspiracy underway to destabilise Chittagong Port’

A conspiracy is underway to destabilise the Chittagong Port, leaders of the Sramik Karmachari Oikya Parishad (SKOP), a platform of staff and workers, alleged on Monday. They made this remark at a workers’ rally held at the gate of Chittagong Port around 11:00 am today. The rally was organised...

en.prothomalo.com

SKOP’s rally
‘Conspiracy underway to destabilise Chittagong Port’

Staff Correspondent Chattogram
Published: 30 Jun 2025, 17: 42

View attachment 19533

Chattogram division unit of Jatiyatabadi Sramik Dal president AM Nazim Uddin addresses the rally, organised by Sramik Karmachari Oikya Parishad, a platform of staff and workers of Chittagong Port, at the gate of Chittagong Port on 30 June 2025 Prothom Alo

A conspiracy is underway to destabilise the Chittagong Port, leaders of the Sramik Karmachari Oikya Parishad (SKOP), a platform of staff and workers, alleged on Monday.

They made this remark at a workers’ rally held at the gate of Chittagong Port around 11:00 am today. The rally was organised on demand of cancelling the lease of the New Mooring Container Terminal (NCT).

President of Chattogram division unit of Jatiyatabadi Sramik Dal, a body of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), AM Nazim Uddin presided over the rally.

Speaking at the event, Trade Union Centre’s (TUC) Chattogram district unit president Tapan Dutta, also a member of the Labour Reform Commission, said conspirators hidden within Chittagong Port have begun plotting to create instability.

He observed that over the last 10 days, three different decisions have been made about the port. At times it has been said that the contract with Saif Powertec would be extended by three months. Then it was said that the Port Authority would operate the NCT themselves for the next six months. Later, it was stated that the Navy would be assigned to manage the port.

Labour leader Tapan Dutta added that in the past 10 days, the government and port authorities have taken inconsistent decisions regarding NCT, which indicates that certain port officials are more focused on creating instability than managing the port properly.

The rally, moderated by SKOP joint convener Zahed Uddin, was also addressed by Chittagong Port CBA’s former general secretary and Chattogram Division unit of the Jatiyatabadi Sramik Dal general secretary Kazi Sheikh Nurullah Bahar, Bangladesh Labour Federation president SK Khoda Toton; Samajtantrik Sramik Front leader Mohin Uddin; and BLF organising secretary Rabiul Haque, among others.

During the meeting, the labour leaders strongly criticised the government’s decision to lease NCT to the Dubai-based multinational company DP World.

They said that Chittagong Port is the country’s main commercial gateway and the backbone of the economy.

The labour leaders pointed out that the NCT, built entirely with domestic funding, is equipped with modern technology and stands as the country’s most successful container terminal.

According to them, any attempt to hand it over to a foreign operator is against national interests and an act of extreme self-destruction.​

Their corrupt bribe money is now in questions, so "Eid ke baad andolon".