No deal with DP World during interim govt’s tenure: Ashik Chowdhury

No agreement will be signed during the tenure of the current interim government to lease the New Mooring Container Terminal (NCT) at Chittagong Port to the UAE-based company DP World.

Ashik Chowdhury, chief executive officer of the Public Private Partnership (PPP) authority and executive chairman of the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA), revealed this at a press conference at the Foreign Service Academy in the capital on Sunday.

Chief adviser’s press secretary Shafiqul Alam was also present at the briefing.

Speaking at the press conference, Ashik Chowdhury said that a letter from DP World had been received earlier on Sunday, which arrived at the Chief Adviser’s Office in the morning.

In the letter, DP World commended the progress of the ongoing negotiations over the lease agreement and expressed satisfaction with the direction in which discussions were proceeding, he stated.

The BIDA executive chairman also said that DP World indicated that it hoped the negotiations would continue further in the future and move in the right direction.

Alongside its appreciation of the progress made, DP World stated that it had received and thoroughly reviewed the shared draft concession agreement. However, the company requested additional time to conduct a further review of the document.

“The interim government has only two working days left in its formal tenure. Since they [DP World] have asked for more time, the matter may move beyond the term of the current government, and the negotiations may resume again in the post-election period,” Ashik Chowdhury stated.

Responding to questions from journalists, Ashik Chowdhury added, “I believe it can be said with a reasonable degree of certainty that no agreement will be signed during this government’s tenure. There are only two working days remaining. Within this time frame, it would be extremely difficult, in practical terms, for them [DP World] to return, for us to place the matter before the Cabinet, secure approval, and then proceed to signing.”

Ashik Chowdhury further said that work on leasing the New Mooring Container Terminal to DP World had begun in 2019, and that final-stage negotiations on the project had commenced over the past month.

“Work on this issue is continuing very intensively at various levels of the government. Discussions with different tiers of the government are ongoing, and this consultation and negotiation process will continue. However, completing the entire process may require some additional time,” he added.