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The High Court has fixed November 19 for a hearing on the legality of the government's move to award the container handling contract of the New Mooring Container Terminal (NCT) at Chattogram Port to a foreign company.
The case, which has raised concerns over compliance with the country's Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Act, follows a public interest writ petition challenging the government's decision.
A High Court bench comprising Justice Fatema Najib and Justice Fatema Anwar set the date on Thursday, responding to a plea from the petitioner's lawyer, Ahsanul Karim, who also requested a status quo order to halt further progress on the contract until the matter is heard.
However, the court did not pass any formal order on the matter.
Instead, it asked the Attorney General to convey a message to the government, advising that no steps be taken regarding the NCT until the hearing, Mr Karim told reporters.
Earlier, on July 30 this year, a High Court bench questioned the legality of the government's decision to initiate the process of awarding the NCT container handling contract to a foreign firm.
The court issued a rule asking the relevant government bodies to explain why the move by the Chittagong Port Authority (CPA) to award the contract to a foreign company, allegedly in violation of the Bangladesh Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Act, 2015, should not be declared illegal.
The rule also sought to know why the respondents should not be directed to invite and conduct a fair and competitive public tender to appoint a container terminal handling operator for the NCT.
The Shipping Secretary, the Chairman of the Chittagong Port Authority, and the Chief Executive Officer of the Public-Private Partnership Authority were asked to respond to the rule.
The writ petition was filed on March 20 this year by the Bangladesh Jubo Arthanitibid Forum, a philanthropic organisation, as a public interest litigation seeking a directive to ensure transparent and competitive bidding before the appointment of any container terminal handling operator.
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