Govt clears draft deal for 15-year NCT operation

The government has given in-principle approval to a draft concession agreement for handing over the operation and maintenance of Chattogram Port’s New Mooring Container Terminal (NCT) and Overflow Container Yard (OCY) to an international terminal operator for 15 years, advancing its long-running plan to bring in a foreign operator.
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs recommended the approval at a meeting at the Secretariat on Thursday, chaired by Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury, according to a briefing following the meeting.
The project, titled “Operation and Maintenance of CPA’s New Mooring Container Terminal (NCT) including Overflow Yard (OCY),” is being implemented under a public-private partnership (PPP) framework.
According to the PPP Authority’s project profile, the Chattogram Port Authority (CPA) plans to award a government-to-government concession to Dubai-based DP World, nominated by the Government of Dubai, to upgrade, operate and maintain the NCT.
The project initially received in-principle approval from the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs on 23 March 2023. Thursday’s approval specifically covers the draft concession agreement for operating the terminal for 15 years.
The latest development comes after the process of appointing a foreign operator stalled during the final months of the interim administration before being revived by the new government.

Negotiations between the government and DP World over the NCT have been underway for several years. The process gained momentum under the interim government but remained incomplete after DP World sought additional time to review the draft concession agreement.
In May, the Ministry of Shipping directed the CPA to reconstitute an evaluation committee for the proposed private operation of the NCT under the PPP model. At the time, the ministry said DP World’s proposal was under evaluation and no decision had been made on other proposals.
The CPA later formed a 12-member support team to assist the negotiation committee handling the NCT project, indicating further progress in the process.
The PPP Authority said the International Finance Corporation (IFC) has been appointed as transaction adviser for the project.
The IFC is responsible for conducting due diligence, structuring the transaction, preparing the request for proposal and concession agreement, and facilitating negotiations with the selected international terminal operator.
The NCT had long been operated by private firm Saif Powertec Limited. After its contract expired on 6 July 2025, Bangladesh Navy-run Chittagong Dry Dock Limited (CDDL) took over operations the following day.
The terminal handled a record 126,496 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in May this year.
The government’s plan to hand over the NCT, which handles around 44% of Chattogram Port’s total container traffic, drew strong protests from various quarters in 2025.
The process of appointing a foreign operator began during the tenure of the ousted Awami League government and continued under the interim administration.
Amid a continuous strike that disrupted the country’s international trade, the interim government stepped back from the plan on 8 February, three days before this year’s national election.
After the new government took office, the issue returned to the agenda on 8 April at the fourth meeting of the Bangladesh-Dubai Joint Public-Private Partnership Platform.

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At the meeting, DP World proposed operating not only the NCT but also the adjacent Chittagong Container Terminal (CCT) as an integrated terminal.
Domestic firm MGH Group and Saudi-based Red Sea Gateway Terminal (RSGT), which operates the Patenga Container Terminal, have also expressed interest in operating the NCT, CCT and General Cargo Berth (GCB) at the port.
Meanwhile, several labour and port protection groups, including Sramik Karmachari Oikya Parishad (SKOP), Jatiyatabadi Sramik Dal’s Chattogram Port unit, the Chattogram Port Protection Movement Committee and the Port Protection Committee, staged protests demanding that the government abandon plans to lease out the NCT.
The agitating organisations expressed resentments over the government’s move and announced programmes protesting the issue.
Chattogram Divisional General Secretary of the Jatiyatabadi Sramik Dal Kazi Sheikh Nurullah Bahar said that they will form a human chain and submit a memorandum to the prime minister on Saturday.
In a statement on Thursday night, Port Protection Committee Convener Engr Delwar Mazumder and Member Secretary Fazlul Kabir Mintu also expressed resentment over the approval in-principle to the draft concession agreement. 
They demanded that the full draft and financial structure of the agreement be made public immediately and an independent economic and technical evaluation be conducted. 
Chattogram Port Protection Movement Council Joint Coordinators Md Humyun Kabir and Md Ibrahim Khokon also urged the government to step back from the decision.

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