The Port Protection Committee (Bondar Rokkha Committee), Chattogram, has urged the government to immediately halt plans to lease the New Mooring Container Terminal (NCT) and Chattogram Container Terminal (CCT) to domestic or foreign operators, saying the country’s largest seaport must remain under national ownership and control to safeguard Bangladesh’s economic and strategic interests.
The demand was made at a press conference held at the Chattogram Press Club on Sunday (28 June), where the committee expressed concern over reported moves to hand over the operation of the terminals under a public-private partnership (PPP) arrangement.
Presenting the committee’s written statement, its convener, Engineer Delwar Majumdar, said Chattogram Port handles nearly 90 percent of Bangladesh’s import and export trade, making its ownership and management a matter of national security, sovereignty and economic stability rather than merely a commercial issue.
He alleged that negotiations between the government and Dubai-based port operator DP World for operating the NCT under a PPP framework are in the final stage. According to him, the Chattogram Port Authority has already formed a 12-member support team to assist the negotiation committee.
The committee argued that both the NCT and CCT were built with Bangladesh’s own resources and have been efficiently managed by local authorities for years. It claimed that despite the NCT’s annual handling capacity of 1.1 million TEUs, the terminal currently processes around 1.3 million TEUs each year.
In May alone, the terminal handled a record 126,496 TEUs, which the speakers cited as evidence of the capability of domestic management.
The committee also alleged that container handling charges have already been increased by 37 percent before any final agreement has been signed. It warned that the higher charges would raise import and export costs, increasing the financial burden on businesses and consumers alike.
Expressing further concern, the speakers said leasing the terminals to foreign operators could result in a significant portion of the port’s earnings being transferred overseas as profit, negatively affecting Bangladesh’s foreign exchange reserves and government revenue.
They also argued that because Chattogram Port is located near key military and strategic installations, allowing foreign entities to control major terminals such as the NCT and CCT could pose risks to national security and sovereignty.
The committee placed five demands before the government, including cancelling all initiatives to lease the NCT and CCT to any local or foreign company, ensuring all terminals remain under the direct management of the Chittagong Port Authority, publishing all port-related agreements, refraining from signing any secret agreements deemed contrary to national interests, and making a clear policy declaration to preserve Chattogram Port under national ownership, control and security.
It also demanded that all agreements related to the Patenga Container Terminal, Pangaon Inland Container Terminal and the Laldia Char project be made public.
The committee announced a rally and human chain programme at 11:00 am on June 30 at the Chattogram Press Club premises, calling on people from all walks of life to join the protest against the proposed leasing of the two terminals.
Among those present at the press conference were TUC Chattogram District Committee President Tapan Dutta, Nationalist Workers’ Party Chattogram Divisional Committee General Secretary Kazi Sheikh Nurullah Bahar, Engineer Sabash Chandra Barua, TUC Joint Secretary Iftekhar Kamal Khan, Nationalist Dock Workers’ Party General Secretary Taslim Hossain Selim, and Port Protection Committee Member Secretary Fazlul Kabir Mintu.
