NEW MOORING CONTAINER TERMINAL: Local management to operate for 6 months before foreign handover

The New Mooring Container Terminal (NCT) of Chattogram Port will remain under local management for 6 months before being handed over to foreign operators.

This policy decision was approved at a meeting of the Economic Affairs Advisory Council Committee on Tuesday.

Briefing the media after the meeting, Finance Adviser Dr. Salehuddin Ahmed confirmed the temporary local management arrangement, which precedes the planned foreign handover.

Retired Brigadier General Sakhawat Hossain, Adviser of the Ministries of Shipping, Labour and Employment, said that the final decision on the entity to be entrusted with managing Chattogram Port will be taken at a meeting of the Ministry of Shipping today.

According to ministry sources, the upcoming operator will be selected through a direct procurement method, bypassing any open tender process. The temporary arrangement will be valid for six months.

For the past 17 years, NCT has been operated by a local private entity, Saif Powertec Limited. The company's contract is set to expire on July 6.

Sources within the Ministry of Shipping indicated that from July 7, the Bangladesh Navy is expected to take over operations of the terminal, with logistical and administrative support from the Chattogram Port Authority (CPA).

NCT is the country's largest container terminal, comprising five jetties capable of accommodating four seagoing vessels and one inland vessel simultaneously. It handles a significant volume of the country's containerised cargo.

Earlier at a meeting on June 18, the Ministry of Shipping had decided that the CPA would operate the terminal directly and submitted a proposal seeking government approval for Tk 420 million. However, the port authorities later reversed this decision.

A follow-up meeting on Saturday between the Shipping Adviser and CPA officials, held at the port building's conference room, resulted in a revised policy decision to assign operational responsibility to the Navy, supported by the CPA.

The process of handing over NCT to foreign operators began under the previous Awami League-led government, with Dubai-based DP World identified as the intended operator. The current interim government is continuing with that process.

A formal agreement with DP World is expected to be signed by November. The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, is acting as the transaction adviser and intermediary on behalf of the Bangladesh government. Until the agreement is finalised, the Bangladesh Navy is likely to continue operating the terminal under the interim arrangement.

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