Published : 14 Sep 2026, 08:45 PM
Updated : 16 Sep 2026, 11:50 AM
The group calling itself the "Port Protection Committee Chattogram" has announced a sit-in programme outside the port authority's headquarters on Oct 5.
It is demanding an end to the process of leasing the New Mooring Container Terminal (NCT) and Chattogram Container Terminal (CCT) to any local or foreign entity, including DP World.
The announcement came at a rally following a protest march that began from the city's Barik Building intersection on Monday.
Though the march was meant to reach the port authority's headquarters, police stopped it near the port's Gate No. 2, where the rally was subsequently held.
Committee Convenor Engineer Delwar Majumder, said their movement was not directed against the government but stood for the public, aiming to steer a government of the people back towards the people.
He said they had already held symbolic hunger strikes, press conferences, roundtables and human chains peacefully, with Monday marking their first protest march.
"Police requested that we end the march here, since this is a port road with heavy traffic. We've stopped the programme at their request, so the public doesn't face hardship," he added.
Delwar said the sit-in would begin at 11am outside the headquarters and continue until evening.
If their demands were met before then, the sit-in would end early; otherwise, it would run until evening, with the next course of action announced afterwards.
Bangladesh Jatiotabadi Sramik Dal's Divisional General Secretary Kazi Sheikh Nurullah Bahar said the sit-in would go ahead on Oct 5 unless the government halted the process of handing New Mooring Terminal to foreign operators.
If the government's stance remained unchanged by then, protests would escalate, he added.
Nurullah said, "We urge the government to step back from this DP World agreement. It's being done to appease foreign interests. Our prime minister has said Bangladesh comes first.
“If that's truly the case, the navy is currently operating New Mooring Container Terminal, and they should continue to do so. That's what we want. We won't let any foreign company take it over.”
Trade Union Centre (TUC) Chattogram's Tapan Dutta said handing the terminal to a foreign firm could not serve the national interest, while Sramik Dal's AM Nazim Uddin warned of long-term risks to sovereignty and called for greater transparency in port management.
The government had directed Port Authority in a Jun 4 letter to resume talks with Dubai-based DP World over the NCT lease, reviving a plan first floated under the Awami League government that stalled before regaining momentum under the interim administration.
The interim government suspended the process on Feb 8 this year following protests from port workers, before reviving talks with its June directive.
New Mooring Terminal, Chittagong Port's largest, handled 44 percent of all containers processed last year.
Chattogram Dry Dock Limited (CDDL), a state-owned company under Bangladesh Navy, has run the terminal since Jul 7, 2024.
