Published : 03 Oct 2026, 04:35 PM
Updated : 03 Oct 2026, 04:35 PM
The Chittagong Port Protection Committee has demanded that the government scrap the process for a proposed 15-year concession agreement with an international operator to run the New Mooring Container Terminal (NCT) and its Overflow Container Yard.
The committee also called for an end to the process of leasing out the Chattogram Container Terminal (CCT).
The demands were made at a press conference at Chattogram Press Club on Saturday.
The committee said the event was organised amid what it described as moves to lease NCT, CCT and other Chittagong Port facilities to local or foreign companies.
It also announced a daylong sit-in outside the port building on Oct 5, warning of a broader movement unless the government made a clear announcement on the issue by then.
In a written statement, committee Member Secretary Fazlul Kabir Mintu said the committee had learnt that the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs had given in-principle approval at its Oct 1 meeting to a draft 15-year concession agreement with an international operator for the operation and maintenance of NCT and the Overflow Container Yard.
He questioned why the proposal concerning what he described as nationally important and strategic infrastructure had been presented under the "miscellaneous" agenda rather than on the main agenda for detailed discussion.
Chittagong Port is directly linked to the country's foreign trade, imports and exports, revenue, industry and business, Mintu said.
"NCT is one of the port's main container terminals. So, handing it over under a 15-year concession is not an ordinary administrative or commercial decision," he said.
Before any decision, Mintu said, the government should publish a comparative assessment of state operation and a concession, taking into account revenue, capacity, technology, efficiency and the potential financial benefits to the state.
The committee said any long-term management arrangement involving strategic national infrastructure must safeguard the state's interests, national security, revenue, employment, workers' rights and future policy independence.
Mintu said the experience of the 22-year agreement signed with Saudi Arabia-based Red Sea Gateway Terminal in December 2023 to operate the Patenga Container Terminal should also be reviewed before any new long-term agreement was reached.
He questioned the need to move quickly on long-term concessions involving NCT and CCT while the government was dealing with economic reconstruction, employment, industrial development, investment and productivity.
Mintu said the committee had sought a meeting with the prime minister to discuss the proposed arrangements for NCT and CCT and had also proposed a national dialogue if necessary, but had yet to receive an effective response.
"Our movement is aimed at protecting state assets and national interests and ensuring transparency and accountability in decision-making," he said.
The committee demanded the immediate cancellation of the proposed 15-year concession process for NCT and the Overflow Container Yard and the withdrawal of the shipping ministry's letter to the Chittagong Port Authority initiating the CCT leasing process.
It also called for the withdrawal of what it described as harassment and false cases filed against port labour leaders during the interim government and demanded that workers and labour leaders opposing the NCT and CCT initiatives not face transfers or other forms of administrative harassment.
The committee expressed solidarity with other platforms, organisations and alliances opposing the initiatives and called for a united movement to protect Chattogram Port and national assets.
Speaking at the press conference, Trade Union Centre Chattogram district unit President Tapan Dutta said NCT was being handed over to Dubai-based DP World and described the terminal as the "heart" of the port.
He said NCT had been built with taxpayers' money and argued that the country had already lost industries such as jute and steel mills.
"Now NCT and CCT at the port also have to be handed over. This is not only a financial issue but also a matter of national security. Our movement is aimed at stopping this process. We urge the government not to take any harmful steps," Dutta said.
Bangladesh Workers Federation President SK Khoda Toton said the interim government had been forced to suspend the concession process but the government was now proposing a 15-year term.
"After that, they will extend it again. By then, our experienced workforce will no longer be there," he said.
Toton argued that the country could eventually lose its ability to operate the port itself, describing the process as a long-term threat to its management.
Jatiotabadi Dock Sramik Dal General Secretary Taslim Hossain Selim alleged that people associated with the previous government were still trying to destabilise the country and claimed the port chairman was among them.
He said NCT had been built with the port's own financing and equipped with modern machinery.
"No matter how many foreign investors come, there will be no scope to increase capacity," Selim said, claiming that port workers and employees were operating the terminal efficiently.
He called on the government to cancel the leasing process.
