New Mooring terminal deal to boost port capacity: Commerce minister

Commerce Minister Khandakar Abdul Muktadir said on Friday the agreement to operate the New Mooring Container Terminal (NCT) will enhance the port’s capacity, dismissing allegations that the deal amounts to selling the country as baseless.

He said, “No port employee will lose their job under the agreement. Rather, the port’s operational capacity will increase and employees’ remuneration will rise.”

The minister made the remarks at a discussion meeting and grant distribution programme organised at Sylhet City Corporation on the occasion of Durga Puja.

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“The agreement to operate the NCT will enhance the port’s operational capacity,” he said, adding that the government would also work to restore Bangladesh’s position as the second-largest exporter of readymade garments to the United States.

Muktadir also said a packing house would be established at Sylhet airport as soon as possible. He expressed hope that the facility would create new opportunities for exporting vegetables from Sylhet.

On Durga Puja, the minister said Bangladesh’s tradition of religious harmony was a source of national pride and expressed hope that the festival would be celebrated peacefully, preserving that tradition.