Bangladesh signs 15-year deal with DP World
Bangladesh signed a 15-year concession agreement with UAE-based port operator DP World to modernise and operate the New Mooring Container Terminal (NCT) at Chattogram Port.
The deal hands day-to-day management of one of the country’s most important trade facilities to a foreign company.
The agreement was signed at around 3:30pm at the Invest Bangladesh auditorium in Agargaon, Dhaka.
Outside the building, police had broken up a protest against the deal. Chattogram Port handles the overwhelming majority of the country’s seaborne container trade, and NCT alone accounts for about 44% of its container traffic.
That makes the deal consequential for importers, exporters and logistics businesses.
According to a government press release, Rear Admiral Md Moniruzzaman, chairman of the Chattogram Port Authority (CPA), signed for the port authority. Essa Kazim, chairman of DP World’s board of directors, signed for the company.
Shipping Minister Sheikh Rabiul Alam and State Minister for Shipping Md Rajib Ahsan attended the ceremony, along with Invest Bangladesh Chairman Chowdhury Ashik Mahmud Bin Harun and UAE Ambassador Abdulla Ali Al Hamoudi.
Ownership stays with Bangladesh, officials say
Under the concession, DP World will modernise and manage the terminal, while ownership of the land and infrastructure remains with the CPA and the government.
Invest Bangladesh said NCT is not being sold or fully handed over to any foreign entity.
It said ownership of the terminal’s land, core infrastructure and assets will stay with the government, and that security, customs, immigration and sovereign authority will remain in Bangladesh’s hands.
In effect, the arrangement transfers operational responsibility, not legal ownership, to the foreign company.
According to the agreement, DP World will finance the modernisation itself, with more than Tk 1,000 crore in capital investment planned over the first 10 years for equipment, technology and terminal facilities.
The government or CPA will receive an advance fee of about Tk 600 crore, with 25% payable at signing and the remaining 75% before operations begin. The CPA will also receive a royalty or revenue share of roughly 40% to 67% per TEU, depending on the terminal’s average revenue, along with a fixed annual fee of about Tk 10 crore.
The deal guarantees a minimum throughput of 1.23 million TEUs a year. If a new terminal begins operating, this minimum can be adjusted to 1 million TEUs.
Officials and DP World praise the partnership
Kazim thanked the government and the CPA for awarding the concession under a public-private partnership (PPP) model.
He said Bangladesh was becoming an increasingly important trade and manufacturing economy, and that DP World was committed to supporting its development.
He said the partnership would connect the New Mooring Container Terminal to DP World’s global network of ports, logistics infrastructure and supply chains, creating smoother links between Bangladesh and international markets.
DP World operates more than 80 marine and inland terminals in over 40 countries, and its network handles about 10% of global container traffic, according to the press release.
Moniruzzaman said the agreement would raise the terminal’s operational capacity, ease logistical bottlenecks and strengthen Bangladesh’s connectivity with international markets.
He said it would support domestic industry, ensure more efficient trade flows and lay a stronger foundation for investment and long-term growth.
Invest Bangladesh Chairman Ashik Chowdhury said the aim was to operate trade at the pace of global standards.
“Bringing DP World into the New Mooring Container Terminal is an important step towards that goal,” he said, according to the account provided.
He added that the aim was to ensure faster operations, stronger connectivity and higher standards at one of the country’s key trade gateways.
Shipping Minister Shaikh Rabiul said the 15-year concession agreement between the Chattogram Port Authority (CPA) and Dubai-based global port operator DP World has been structured with strong financial and operational safeguards to protect Bangladesh’s national and economic interests.
NCT has four container berths and an adjoining overflow yard. Chattogram Port handled about 3.2 million TEUs in the 2024-25 financial year. Based on the reported 44% share, NCT accounts for roughly 1.4 million TEUs a year, though actual throughput varies annually.
The terminal is central to the movement of imported raw materials, industrial machinery, consumer goods and export shipments, including those serving the garment industry.
For exporters, terminal performance directly affects handling times, shipping schedules and supply-chain reliability. For importers, delays raise storage, transport and financing costs.
DP World, headquartered in Dubai, operates container terminals, freight handling and supply-chain services worldwide.
The government has presented the deal as a way to modernise port operations and improve efficiency, but its success will depend on the investment actually delivered, the operational standards imposed and the government’s ability to enforce the terms.
Questions also remain over the treatment of existing workers, future tariff-setting and the extent of the port authority’s oversight.
The agreement comes amid a wider push to involve international operators in Bangladesh’s port infrastructure.
Separate proposals and negotiations over other terminals, including the Chittagong Container Terminal (CCT), have also brought foreign port companies into discussions.
Police baton-charge protesters
The agreement drew immediate opposition from left-wing groups, which accused the government of compromising national sovereignty by handing a strategic facility to a foreign operator.
Activists from the Communist Party of Bangladesh (CPB), the Socialist Party of Bangladesh (BASAD) and other organisations gathered outside the Invest Bangladesh building from around 2pm. Police dispersed them with batons at about 2:45pm.
CPB President Sazzad Zahir Chandan, who joined the protest, said it had been organised by the Anti-Imperialist and Anti-War Alliance. “We believe this agreement amounts to selling off Bangladesh,” he said.
He alleged that DP World has links with the US Navy and that letting it operate NCT could open the door to American involvement in Bangladesh’s strategic infrastructure.
“Handing over Chattogram port’s New Mooring Container Terminal to DP World means allowing the United States to interfere directly in Bangladesh’s independence and sovereignty,” he said.
His claims about possible US military access were not substantiated in the material provided, and the government’s description of the agreement does not indicate that military access is part of the concession.
Chandan said the protesters had assembled peacefully and accused police of attacking them without provocation.
“At one point during the peaceful demonstration, police baton-charged us without provocation,” he said.
The CPB said several leaders and activists, including Chandan, were injured. The extent of the injuries could not be independently established.
