Anu warns of risks in DP world port deal
Economist Professor Anu Muhammad has accused successive Bangladeshi governments of using a “lack of capacity” argument for 54 years to justify foreign takeovers of national infrastructure, warning that handing over the New Mooring Container Terminal (NCT) to DP World without a competitive tender could put the state at risk.
Speaking Tuesday at a roundtable titled “Chittagong Port and National Interest,” organised by the Media and Civil Rights Society (MCRS) at the National Press Club, Anu Muhammad said it was shameful that DP World – the same company linked to Chittagong Port investment during the Awami League era – had resurfaced despite the government’s “Bangladesh First” rhetoric. He also pointed to the Rooppur and Matarbari projects as examples of costly ventures with unanswered questions.
Sohag Kumar Biswas, Chittagong bureau chief of the daily Amar Desh, presented the roundtable’s keynote paper, arguing that framing the debate as “local versus foreign” obscures the real calculations at stake.
NCT was built with roughly Tk 2,712 crore in state funds, with an additional Tk 2,500 crore recently spent on cranes and equipment. Under domestic management, the paper said, NCT handled 1.385 million TEUs in FY2025-26 – 26 percent above the capacity estimated by German consultants – and set a monthly record in May 2026.
The paper flagged three proposed structural shifts: a change from “operator” to “concessionaire” status that would redirect toll revenue away from the port’s own accounts; a shift from fixed per-TEU revenue to a tiered royalty system; and an extension of the contract term from an original 15-year model to 30 years.
According to the paper’s figures, net port earnings per container could fall by about 74 percent under the new terms, translating to an estimated Tk 24,000 crore in lost revenue over 30 years, against a proposed foreign investment of only $205 million.
It also noted that a domestic company had offered better terms than the foreign proposal, and that the minimum concession fee had reportedly been lowered during negotiations. The paper further warned that whoever controls terminal data – including cargo and shipping records – would gain significant strategic leverage, citing a 2023 cyberattack that disrupted the same global operator’s Australian ports.
MCRS proposed seven conditions for any port infrastructure deal, applicable to any operator:
competitive international tendering; mandatory joint ventures with 51 percent domestic ownership; a maximum 15-year term; enforced domestic control at ownership, dividend and board levels; state ownership of data with cybersecurity audits; public disclosure of contract terms before signing; and protection of existing dock workers’ jobs.
Sheikh Nurullah Bahar of the Chittagong Port Protection Committee warned that a DP World takeover could trigger an uncontrollable workers’ movement, saying dockworkers fear losing their rights under foreign management.
The discussion, moderated by MCRS Executive Director Baten Biplob, also featured speakers from the Maulana Bhashani Parishad, Communist Party of Bangladesh, Garments Workers Union Parishad, and other political and civil groups, who urged the government to resolve questions of transparency and terms before signing any agreement, warning that a 30-year concession would be far harder to reverse than a cancelled tender.
