‘No legal bar to NCT deal with foreign operator’

The Appellate Division has upheld a High Court ruling dismissing a rule that questioned the validity of the process to appoint a foreign operator for the New Mooring Container Terminal (NCT) at Chittagong Port.
The order was issued on Thursday by a four-member bench of the Appellate Division led by Chief Justice Zubayer Rahman Chowdhury.

Following the decision, state lawyers said there is now no legal barrier to the port authority signing an agreement with a foreign company to operate the NCT.

Earlier, on Jan 29, a single High Court bench of Justice Zafar Ahmed dismissed the rule challenging the validity of the ongoing agreement process.

The rule had been issued earlier in response to a writ petition filed by the Bangladesh Youth Economists Forum, reports bdnews24.com

Advocates Zamir Uddin Sarkar, Ahsanul Karim and Mahbub Uddin Khokon argued for the petitioners, while Additional Attorney General Aneek R Haque represented the state.

Speaking to reporters, Aneek said the writ petition questioned the transparency of the management agreement involving the Bangladesh government, the Dubai government and the operation of the New Mooring Container Terminal by foreign operators.

He said the High Court had earlier delivered a split verdict.

“Two judges said the petition had no substance, while one judge held that the rule had merit and made it absolute,” he said.

Following that verdict, the Bangladesh Youth Economists Forum filed a leave-to-appeal petition in the Appellate Division.

“After hearing the matter yesterday and today, the Appellate Division dismissed the leave to appeal against the High Court order,” Aneek said.

“As a result, there is now no obstacle to the government entering into agreements with foreign entities with whom it plans to work.”

He said the agreement in question is a government-to-government, or G2G, arrangement between Bangladesh and the UAE government.

“There is also the Public-Private Partnership Act, which allows foreign investors to participate in projects. The Chittagong Port Authority law also permits handing over container terminals or other port facilities to foreign operators under management arrangements,” he said.

According to Aneek, the Bangladesh government initially estimated the investment at Tk 2 billion, but later assessments found the project would require around Tk 24 billion.

He said the Dubai government agreed to invest that amount to modernise, renovate and operate the terminal.

The entire process was later challenged in the High Court by the Bangladesh Youth Economists Forum.

Aneek said the High Court bench of Justice Fatema Najib and Justice Fatema Anwar delivered a split judgment.

Najib found merit in the rule and made it absolute, stating there was a lack of transparency and that proper legal procedures had not been followed.

Anwar, however, held that the process complied with the relevant laws and also observed that the petitioners lacked the legal standing, or locus standi, to file the case.

Because of the split verdict, the matter was referred by the then chief justice to a third judge, Justice Zafar Ahmed.

After several weeks of hearings, Zafar concluded that the government had followed the required legal procedures and that there was no ambiguity barring the agreement.

Aneek said the Appellate Division, after hearing arguments against that decision, ultimately dismissed the appeal.

“There was no violation of law and no ambiguity in the process. Those who filed the writ also did not have the locus standi to bring the case,” he said.

On Jul 30, the High Court issued a rule asking why the ongoing process for appointing a foreign operator for the New Mooring Container Terminal should not be declared illegal.

The rule was issued by a bench comprising Justice Habibul Gani and Justice Sheikh Tahsin Ali.

The court also asked why the authorities should not be directed to ensure fair and competitive public bidding before appointing any operator to run the NCT.

Mirza Walid Hossain, president of the Bangladesh Youth Economists Forum, filed the writ petition on behalf of the organisation.

The petition named the shipping secretary, the chairman of the Chittagong Port Authority, and the chief executive officer of the PPP Authority as respondents.

It cited several media reports, including one published in a national daily on Apr 26, 2025, titled “New Mooring Terminal has everything, yet why is it going to foreigners,” and sought directives to ensure open and competitive tenders for managing the terminal.