HC seeks govt's stance on foreign management of Ctg Port's NCT

The High Court has asked whether the interim government's Advisory Council has made any decision on the proposed transfer of management of the New Mooring Container Terminal (NCT) at Chattogram Port to a foreign company.

The HC issued the order during a hearing today (29 June), following a writ petition challenging the legality of the move.

The HC bench of Justice Habibul Gani and Justice Sheikh Tasnim Alam scheduled the next hearing for Tuesday (1 July) and directed Attorney General AM Amin Uddin to inform the court about the government's position.

Senior lawyer Ahsanul Karim and Advocate Anwar Hossain appeared for the petitioner during the hearing.

The writ petition, filed by Mirza Walid Hasan, president of Youth Economic Forum, challenges the legality of the ongoing process of handing over the terminal's operation to a foreign entity without first offering the opportunity to domestic operators, allegedly in violation of the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Act 2015.

The petition seeks a rule asking why the process of engaging a foreign operator without competitive bidding should not be declared illegal. It also calls for a directive to ensure that any such agreement must follow a fair and competitive tender process as per the law.

At the same time, the petition also seeks a rule asking why a directive should not be issued to ensure that before assigning the responsibility of container terminal handling to any operator, a fair and competitive bidding process is conducted in accordance with the law.

The respondents named in the petition include the secretary of the Ministry of Shipping, the chairman of the Chattogram Port Authority, and the CEO of the Public-Private Partnership Authority.

According to media reports, the initiative to hand over the NCT's management to a Dubai-based company through the PPP Authority began during the previous Awami League government and has gained momentum again under the current interim government—drawing criticism from various quarters.

In response to the controversy, the office of PPP Authority's CEO stated that a feasibility study by an internationally reputed firm is currently underway regarding the terminal's implementation under the PPP model.

The government will make its final decision based on the recommendations of this study, the office added.