Sramik Karmachari Oikya Parishad (SKOP), a coalition of workers’ and employees’ organisations, has demanded the cancellation of the agreement to hand over the operation of Chattogram Port’s New Mooring Container Terminal (NCT) to DP World and an immediate halt to the leasing process for the Chattogram Container Terminal (CCT) and General Cargo Berth (GCB).
At a press conference at Chattogram Press Club on Monday SKOP leaders said the public would not accept any agreement that disregarded national interests by transferring operational control of state-owned assets to foreign entities.
AM Nazim Uddin, president of the Chattogram divisional committee of the Jatiyatabadi Sramik Dal, read out the written statement.
The statement said Chattogram Port is the country’s principal gateway for international trade.
It questioned the decision to lease out the profitable NCT, built with public funds, without disclosing the agreement’s financial terms, revenue implications, tax benefits, investment commitments and potential impact on national interests.
SKOP leaders warned that leasing out the NCT, CCT and GCB could weaken domestic management capacity and increase dependence on foreign operators.
They said they had no objection to foreign investment or technology for port modernisation but argued that developing new infrastructure was different from handing over operational control of existing, profitable state-built terminals.
They suggested considering investment models such as Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) for new facilities.
The leaders also called for an independent assessment of investment commitments under the operating agreement for Patenga Container Terminal (PCT), including actual investment, the installation of new equipment and sources of funding, with the findings made public.
They demanded full disclosure of the NCT agreement and safeguards for customs autonomy, container inspections, national security and the government’s emergency intervention powers.
Emphasising workers’ rights, SKOP said clear guarantees must protect employees’ jobs, wages, seniority, pensions, retirement benefits, trade union rights and collective bargaining. Modernisation, they added, must not come at the expense of employment security or labour rights.
Those present included SKOP Joint Coordinator in Chattogram Khorshedul Alam, Bangladesh Sramik Federation President SK Khoda Totan, Jatiyatabadi Sramik Dal Organising Secretary SM Jamal Uddin, TUC central organiser Fazlul Kabir Mintu and BFTUC General Secretary KM Shahidullah, among other labour leaders.
