New Mooring Terminal to be managed locally for 6 months before foreigners: Finance adviser

The New Mooring Container Terminal (NCT) of the Chittagong Port will be operated under local management for six months before being handed over to foreign operators.

The advisory council committee on economic affairs approved it in principle on Tuesday.

Finance adviser Salehuddin Ahmed made the disclosure while talking to the media after the meeting.

Shipping adviser Brig Gen (retd) Sakhawat Hossain also spoke to the media and said the Chittagong Port Authority will decide who will operate the terminal.

The process will not involve a tender, rather it will be done in a direct purchase method and continue for a six-month term. In this regard, a final decision is expected tomorrow, Wednesday.

For the past 17 years, the terminal has been operated by a local private company, Saif Powertec Limited. Its current contract will expire on 6 July.

According to the shipping ministry sources, the Bangladesh Navy might be assigned to run the terminal starting from 7 July. They, with support from the port authority, will manage operations for the next six months.

The terminal has five jetties, four of which can accommodate sea-going vessels, and one is for inland waterway vessels. This is the largest container terminal in the country, handling container loading, unloading, and various other port operations.

Before assigning the navy, the shipping ministry in a meeting on 18 June decided that the terminal would be operated under direct management of the port authority. Accordingly, the port had sent a request to the ministry for government approval to spend Tk 420 million over six months. However, the port later withdrew from this decision.

On Saturday, a policy decision was made to operate the terminal with the support of the navy during a meeting between the shipping adviser and port officials at the port’s conference room.

During the Awami League's rule, a process was initiated to hand over management of the New Mooring Container Terminal to Dubai-based DP World. The current interim government is continuing that process, with a contract expected to be signed by November.

The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a World Bank affiliate, is acting as the transaction adviser for the Bangladeshi government in the deal. Until the final agreement is signed, the navy is expected to continue managing the terminal.