Ctg port authority eases tender terms for Kamalapur ICD contractor appointment

The Chattogram Port Authority has dropped a key condition from its latest contractor recruitment tender for container and cargo handling at the Kamalapur Inland Container Depot (ICD), raising hopes among logistics businesses for fairer competition and an end to the dominance of a single operator.

The CPA's decision comes in response to formal objections raised by ICD owners and logistics stakeholders, who argued that the requirement was unfair. 

Following several meetings with port officials to address the concerns, the CPA has now withdrawn the condition in a fresh open tender issued on 7 April for a five-year contract to operate the Kamalapur ICD.

Earlier tenders included a specific clause requiring bidders to have experience in loading containers onto seagoing vessels and railway wagons. Stakeholders said this condition effectively excluded all local firms except the current operator, Saif Powertec, from participating in the bidding process.

Industry leaders welcomed the decision, saying it would allow more firms to enter the bidding process, increase competition, and reduce the risk of monopolistic control.

Nurul Qayyum Khan, president of the Bangladesh Inland Container Depot Association (Bicda), told The Business Standard, "A condition was previously included that required rail-based container handling experience. But port berth and ICD operators in Chattogram do the same type of work using the same equipment. We raised this issue in writing, and the port authority eventually cancelled the earlier tender schedules."

"As the new tender does not include that condition, it will allow more companies in the sector to participate. It will create competition, reduce costs, and benefit both businesses and consumers," he added.

Kamalapur ICD, which is owned by the Port Authority and was launched in 1987 to ease pressure on the Dhaka-Chattogram highway, handles import containers brought by rail from Chattogram. Export cargo is also sent to the port from Kamalapur via train. 

In addition to Kamalapur, there are 19 other ICDs in Chattogram, all privately owned.

According to port officials, Saif Powertec has been handling container and cargo operations at Kamalapur ICD since 2013 under a 10-year contract that ended in 2023. 

After the contract expired, the port invited a new tender on 18 June of the same year for a new five-year contract, but it included the "unfair" condition that required experience in similar contracts of a particular scale and complexity.

According to stakeholders, the clause effectively disqualified most local ICD owners.

After objections were raised with both the port authority and the Central Procurement Technical Unit (CPTU), the June tender was cancelled and reissued on 12 September 2023 but it retained the same condition, prompting further criticism.

ICD owners alleged that including container handling from rail wagons was a deliberate attempt to disqualify them. They said the port was tailoring the requirements to favour one company, even though Kamalapur ICD has no role in loading containers onto seagoing vessels.

The reissued tender was eventually scrapped following political unrest and the fall of the Awami-league government amid student protests. Saif Powertec was later reappointed on a temporary basis through the Direct Procurement Method (DPM) after their contract expired.

Mohammad Omar Faruk, secretary of CPA, told TBS, "We are taking all necessary steps to appoint a qualified operator. The new contractor for Kamalapur ICD will be selected with the highest transparency."

However, Saif Powertec's Managing Director Tarafdar Ruhul Amin criticised the new approach. 

He told TBS, "As per PPR rules, firms without relevant experience should not be eligible. This new tender opens the door for inexperienced firms. We will formally write to the port authority on this matter."

He also denied allegations that earlier tenders were tailored to benefit Saif Powertec, calling such claims baseless.