Opposition to foreign operation of Chattogram Port’s container terminals has flared up again, with the Chattogram Bandar Rokkha Committee holding a daylong sit-in in front of the port’s main gate on October 5. The protest is the latest and most visible move yet in a months-long campaign against government plans to lease out the New Mooring Container Terminal, one of the country’s busiest and most commercially significant port assets.
What Triggered This Round of Protest
The immediate spark came just days before the sit-in. Fazlul Kabir Mintu, member secretary of the committee, told reporters at a press conference that the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs had given in-principle approval to the draft 15-year concession agreement at its meeting on October 1. For a movement that had already spent months opposing any long-term lease of the terminal, that approval functioned as confirmation that the process was moving forward regardless of earlier objections, and the committee responded by escalating straight to a sit-in rather than another round of press statements.
What the Committee Is Actually Demanding
The committee’s core demand is cancellation of the proposed concession agreement outright. But alongside that, it has pushed for something more procedural, and arguably more pointed: a comprehensive, transparent comparative assessment made public before NCT is handed over under any long-term concession. According to Mintu, that assessment should cover the terminal’s potential revenue under continued state management, its scope for capacity enhancement, the possible use of modern technology and automation, operational efficiency, and the financial benefits the state stands to gain or lose under the proposed deal. In short, the committee isn’t just objecting on principle; it’s asking the government to show its work before committing to a 15-year arrangement with a foreign operator.
The committee has also tied its objection to a separate, already-signed deal. It’s calling for a review of the 22-year agreement signed in December 2023 with Saudi Arabia-based Red Sea Gateway Terminal to operate the Patenga Container Terminal, arguing that the deal’s track record should be assessed before the government enters into any new long-term concession elsewhere in the port.
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Who’s Involved and Why It Matters
The operator at the centre of the NCT dispute is Dubai-based DP World, one of the world’s largest port operators. Framing the dispute, committee convener Engineer Delwar Majumder has described NCT and the nearby Chattogram Container Terminal (CCT) as “golden geese” that generate significant benefits for the country, a phrase that captures the committee’s core argument: that these terminals are too commercially valuable to hand over to a foreign operator without the kind of rigorous, public cost-benefit case the government has not yet made.
This isn’t the first time the issue has brought operations at Chattogram Port to a standstill. Earlier this year, the Chattogram Bandar Rokkha Sangram Parishad, a related platform, launched an indefinite strike demanding cancellation of the NCT lease to DP World alongside the removal of the port chairman and a corruption probe into his conduct. That strike halted loading and unloading at the port’s three main terminals before being suspended after the government announced that no contracts would be signed during the tenure of the interim administration, a pledge the current round of protest suggests the committee feels is now being tested.
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The Stakes for Bangladesh’s Trade Gateway
Chattogram Port is Bangladesh’s primary trade gateway, handling the overwhelming majority of the country’s import and export container traffic. That’s precisely why disputes over its terminals carry outsized economic weight, previous strikes tied to this same issue brought cargo operations to a near halt and raised fears of mounting container congestion, with business and shipping stakeholders warning that prolonged disruption would hit the national economy directly. For now, the October 5 action was confined to a daylong sit-in rather than a work stoppage, meaning port operations were not disrupted in the same way earlier strikes were. But the committee has made clear this isn’t necessarily the end of the campaign.
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What Happens Next
The committee’s own framing leaves the door open for further escalation. It has said that if the government does not make a clear announcement cancelling the NCT and CCT leasing initiatives, it will announce further programmes from the sit-in onward. Given that the broader standoff has already produced one indefinite strike earlier this year, that warning is not an empty one, and how the government responds to the October 1 cabinet approval in the coming weeks will likely determine whether this remains a sit-in-level protest or escalates back toward the kind of operational disruption Chattogram Port saw earlier in the year.
FAQ
What is the Chattogram Bandar Rokkha Committee protesting?
A proposed 15-year concession agreement that would hand operation and maintenance of the New Mooring Container Terminal and its overflow yard to Dubai-based DP World.
What triggered the October 5 sit-in specifically?
Confirmation that Bangladesh’s Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs gave in-principle approval to the draft concession agreement at its October 1 meeting.
What is the committee actually asking the government to do?
Cancel the proposed concession, and before considering any similar deal, publish a transparent comparative assessment of the terminal’s revenue potential, efficiency, and financial benefits under continued state management.
Has this dispute disrupted port operations before?
Yes. Earlier this year, a related group launched an indefinite strike over the same NCT lease issue, briefly halting operations at Chattogram Port’s three main terminals before the government pledged not to sign contracts during the interim administration’s tenure.
Is DP World the only foreign operator involved at Chattogram Port?
No. Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea Gateway Terminal already operates the nearby Patenga Container Terminal under a 22-year agreement signed in December 2023, which the committee wants reviewed alongside the NCT dispute.
