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Published : 04 Dec 2025, 02:20 PM
The High Court has delivered a split verdict on a petition challenging the validity of the process by which the government is signing an agreement with a foreign company for the operation of the Chittagong Port’s New Mooring Container Terminal (NCT).
On Thursday, the bench's senior Justice Fatema Najib declared the agreement process illegal, while Justice Fatema Anwar ruled that the agreement process was valid on three particular points.
Afterwards, the lawyer for the petitioner, Kayser Kamal, said that the bench's senior justice made a rule absolute on the validity of the petition, while the junior justice dismissed the petition on three questions. Now the decision will go to the chief justice, who will form a third bench, which will give a final ruling in this regard.
When asked whether the process will continue in light of this verdict, he said: “I do not think it would be ethical to continue the work in this situation. Since the senior judge has made the rule absolute, it is necessary to wait until the third bench's verdict."
On Nov 25, the High Court set its date for the verdict on a petition challenging the legality of the ongoing process of signing an agreement with a foreign company to operate the NCT. That verdict was delivered on Thursday.
Senior lawyers AM Mahbub Uddin Khokon, Ahsanul Karim, and Kayser had argued for the petition at the prior hearing, while Attorney General Md Asaduzzaman and Additional Attorney General Aneek R Haque represented the state.
Mirza Walid Hossain, president, Bangladesh Young Economists Forum, filed the petition. The respondents in the case include the secretary of the shipping ministry, the chairman of the Chattogram Port Authority, and the chief executive officer of the PPP Authority.
The petition was filed seeking a directive to ensure a fair and competitive tender process for operating the NCT after the media challenged it being handed over to a foreign operator.
The High Court issued a rule on Jul 30 following the writ petition. The rule had asked to explain why the ongoing process of signing an agreement with a foreign company to operate the NCT should not be declared beyond legal authority.
The NCT is the largest among the four container terminals at Chattogram Port. Of its five jetties, four handle large container vessels, while the remaining jetty serves smaller vessels operating on domestic waterways. In 2024, the NCT handled 44 percent of all containers moved through the Chattogram Port.
The port authority had spent Tk 4.69 billion in constructing the five jetties at the NCT between 2004 and 2007.
Two years after the jetties were completed, the port authority floated a tender to appoint a foreign operator to run the NCT on the condition that they would invest in procuring equipment for the terminal. Several foreign firms had shown interest, but the port authority later cancelled the tender.
In 2012, a fresh tender was called to operate the terminal. But the move was eventually stalled over a legal challenge.
On Jun 25, 2015, Saif Powertec Ltd and its two partner companies signed an agreement with the port authority to operate jetties 4 and 5 of the NCT, after settling legal disputes.
On Sept 23 that year, Saif Powertec also signed a contract with the port authority to operate jetties 2 and 3 of the terminal.
They have been awarded the responsibility to manage the NCT for two years. The container-handling operations at the terminal were formally inaugurated on Oct 17, 2015.
No new tenders were ever issued for operating the NCT. Instead, Saif Powertec continued to run the terminal on six-month contracts under the direct purchase method (DPM).
Saif Powertec operated the NCT 11 consecutive times through the DPM. On Jan 7 this year, they were given the responsibility for a 12th six-month term.
Until 2023, the port authority spent nearly Tk 20 billion on procuring different equipment for the NCT.
The NCT has the capacity to handle 1 million units of containers annually. In 2024, the domestic private operator Saif Powertec handled 1.28 million units at the terminal.
The last Awami League government had decided in principle to employ foreign operators to run the NCT. The Dubai-based DP World emerged as a potential candidate at the time.
The interim government, which took charge after the fall of the Awami League regime last year, became interested in appointing a foreign operator to run the NCT.
DP World has resurfaced again as a potential candidate.
Leaders of the Chattogram Port Workers Council, several leftist groups, the BNP, Jamaat-e-Islami and other political parties have already voiced their opposition to bringing in a foreign operator for the NCT.
Some left organisations also staged a road march from Dhaka to Chattogram on Jun 27–28, demanding a halt to steps to involve foreign companies in managing the Chattogram Port, to set up a humanitarian corridor for Rakhine, and to launch Starlink’s internet service -- which they said could pull Bangladesh into an “imperialist war bloc”.
Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus, however, claimed in a speech given to the nation on Jun 4 that handing over port management to foreigners would not create a security threat.
