Political pressure to rise if NCT given to foreigners
Chattogram Bureau :
Chattogram has become agitated over the initiative to hand over the New Mooring Container Terminal (NCT) to a foreign company.
Demonstrations, human chains and protest programmes are going on every day inside and outside the Chattogram port.
The issue is not limited to port-centric movements; it has also spread to national politics.
Experienced sources say that if the interim government remains adamant on its decision, the unrest over NCT will increase further.
NCT is one of the most modern container handling facilities in the country. Thousands of workers and employees of the country work here every day.
It has been managed by a domestic company for the last 17 years, maintaining international standards.
About 44 percent of the total containers at the Chattogram port are loaded and unloaded through this terminal. In 2007, where the average stay of a ship was 10-12 days, it has now come down to only two and a half days.
In the 2022-23 fiscal year, NCT’s net income excluding expenses was Tk 574 crore.
NCT has the world’s most advanced technology gantry cranes. 12 were required, 14 are operational.
There are 33 rubber-tire gantry cranes, which have a service life of at least 20 years.
Although the terminal has an annual capacity of 1 million containers, it handled about 1.281 million TEUs last year. With skilled manpower and modern management, it can now handle up to 1.3 million TEUs.
In March 2023, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs during the Awami League government approved the operation of NCT under a public-private partnership (PPP).
The International Finance Corporation (IFC) was assigned as the transaction advisor.
In continuation of that project, the current interim government has taken the initiative to operate NCT under a G2G agreement with DP World of the United Arab Emirates.
From 2007 to 2025, a total of 12.397 million TEUs containers and 8,791 ships have been handled at NCT.
With improved infrastructure and efficient management, the country’s import and export costs have decreased, and the speed of port services has increased.
There are currently four container terminals operating at Chattogram Port. The NCT, which is about a thousand meters long, is the largest of them. It can handle four ocean-going ships and one inland vessel at a time.
Of the remaining three, 19 percent of goods are loaded and unloaded at the CCT and 37 percent at the General Cargo Berth (GCB). The Patenga Terminal, which was launched in June 2023, is not yet fully usable.
Workers, employees, port-related organizations and the general public are regularly protesting against the possibility of NCT going to a foreign company.
They claim that the terminal’s equipment, capacity and management skills are world-class.