Uncertainty is looming over the operation of Chattogram Container Terminal (CCT) as the Chittagong Port Authority (CPA) has yet to decide who will operate the facility after its existing contract with Saif Powertec expires on 2 November.
Saudi Arabia-based Red Sea Gateway Terminal International (RSGTI) has proposed investing in the terminal. However, the port authority says completing a new concession agreement under the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model could take at least two years, raising questions about how the terminal will be managed in the interim.
CCT handled around 16 per cent of Chattogram Port’s total container traffic in 2025.
CPA spokesperson and Secretary Syed Refayet Hamim told TIMES of Bangladesh that the agreement with Saif Powertec would expire on 2 November, but no decision had been made on the terminal’s subsequent operator.
Shipping Ministry Secretary Zakaria said the CPA would decide how to operate the terminal after the existing contract expires and submit a proposal to the ministry. No decision has yet been taken on a new contract, he added.
According to port sources, the Ministry of Shipping issued instructions to the CPA and Invest Bangladesh on 28 September to initiate the process of appointing RSGTI to operate CCT and the General Cargo Berths (GCB).
A senior Saif Powertec official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the company had received no indication of what arrangement would follow the expiry of its contract.
“It is still unclear whether the terminal will be handed over through an open tender, leased under another arrangement, or operated directly by the port authority,” the official said.
He added that no discussions had taken place about renewing Saif Powertec’s operational responsibility, and the company did not expect to be reappointed.
RSGTI proposes $1 billion investment
In a letter dated 13 July 2026, RSGTI proposed investing $1 billion in Bangladesh’s port sector through two major projects.
The proposal was sent by Chetan Pandey, the company’s director of Global Investments, to Chowdhury Ashik Mahmud Bin Harun, chief executive officer of the Public-Private Partnership Authority.
It includes a proposed investment of $600 million in an integrated container and multipurpose terminal at Chattogram Port and $400 million in a multipurpose terminal at the proposed Bay Terminal.
RSGTI also requested that the projects be included on the agenda of the second Saudi-Bangladesh Joint Platform meeting.
The company already operates Patenga Container Terminal under a 22-year concession agreement with the CPA. It said the initial phase of its $170 million investment at the terminal had been completed, marked by the arrival of four ship-to-shore cranes in June 2026.
Capacity and workforce concerns
Located between New Mooring Container Terminal and the General Cargo Berths, CCT has two berths capable of accommodating two container vessels simultaneously.
The terminal has four gantry cranes, some of which have reportedly experienced declining operational efficiency.
According to relevant sources, its annual container-handling volume has dropped from around 500,000 containers to between 350,000 and 400,000. The volume could decline further this year.
CCT currently employs more than 300 permanent staff and approximately 650-660 daily-wage workers under the existing operational arrangement.
