Writ filed challenging legality of handing over New Mooring Terminal operations to foreign cos
A HC bench of Justice Habibul Gani and Justice Syed Mohammed Tazrul Hossain fixed next Sunday (25 May) for a hearing on the petition
A writ petition has been filed with the High Court challenging the legality of Chittagong Port Authority's (CPA) move to hand over the management of the port's New Mooring Container Terminal (NCT) to a foreign company.
Confirming the matter, senior lawyer Ahsanul Karim said President of Youth Economics Forum Mirza Walid Hasan has filed the writ.
A HC bench of Justice Habibul Gani and Justice Syed Mohammed Tazrul Hossain fixed next Sunday (25 May) for a hearing on the petition, said Ahsanul.
Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel
In the writ, the petitioner pleaded to the court to issue a rule asking why the ongoing process of reaching an agreement with a foreign company to operate the New Mooring Container Terminal will not be beyond legal jurisdictions, which violates the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Law 2015 by not giving permission to local operators to do the job.
Through the writ, the petitioner also requested the court to issue another rule asking why orders will not be given to issue proper and competitive tenders before giving the responsibility of operating the container terminals to any operator.
The shipping secretary, chairman of Chattogram Port Authority and CEO of Public-Private Partnership Authority have been made respondents to the writ petition.
According to media reports, the process to let foreign companies manage the operation of terminals began during the Awami League era when the NCT was handed over to a Dubai-based company through PPP authorities for operation.
The process, which has gained pace under the interim government, has come under criticism from various political parties, netizens, economists, trade bodies and labour leaders.
However, the Office of the CEO of PPP Authority has said the process to test the probability of operation of the New Mooring Container Terminal through the PPP system is ongoing under an internationally recognised organisation.
The government will make decisions on this matter based on the proposals made in the proposal report, the CEO's office said.
Commissioned in 2007 by the CPA with a Tk4,000 crore investment, the NCT was designed to handle 1.1 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) annually. Today, it processes 1.3 million—15% above capacity, and contributes over Tk 1,000 crore to port revenues each year.
Port officials credit this to a combination of technological upgrades and the growing competence of local operators. By all measures, NCT has become one of Bangladesh's few infrastructure success stories.
Yet, despite its performance, the government, first under the Awami League and now under the interim administration, has been pushing to hand over operations to Dubai-based DP World, without conducting an international tender, The Business Standard reported yesterday (20 May).
