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DP World deal sparks hunger strike at Chattogram port
Daily Sun Report, Chattogram
Published: 12 Oct 2026, 01:15 PM
Chattogram port workers’ group demands cancellation of DP World agreement. Photo: Rabin Chowdhury
The Chattogram Port Protection Struggle Council began a mass hunger strike in front of the port’s One-Stop Service Building on Monday, demanding the cancellation of a lease agreement with DP World for the New Mooring Container Terminal (NCT) and job security for port workers and employees.
The programme began at 11:30am, as the protesters called for action on their demands.
Mohammad Humayun Kabir, a leader of the Chattogram Port Nationalist Labour Party and joint coordinator of the council, and Ibrahim Khokon took part in the hunger strike.
Humayun Kabir said the council had given the government two days to hold discussions after staging a procession on 8 October, the day the agreement was signed.
“The government has not taken any initiative for discussions. So, we are holding the peaceful mass hunger strike as announced earlier,” he said.
On 8 October, DP World, a United Arab Emirates-based port operator, signed a concession agreement to operate the NCT at Chattogram Port for 15 years.
The agreement was signed at the Invest Bangladesh auditorium in Agargaon, Dhaka, by DP World Chairman Essa Kazim and Chattogram Port Authority Chairman Rear Admiral SM Moniruzzaman.