A foreign operator will run the New Mooring Container Terminal of Chittagong Port. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs gave its final approval to the draft agreement regarding this on Thursday.
The approval was given at the 31st meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs held on the day. As a result, the long-standing uncertainty regarding the appointment of a foreign operator at the New Mooring Container Terminal (NCT) of the port is coming to an end.
Ever since DP World, an institution of the United Arab Emirates, submitted a proposal to operate the NCT, the issue has been subject to various discussions and criticisms. Although the government advanced the process in this regard, various labor and political organizations have been opposing handing over the NCT to foreigners from the beginning and have been continuously carrying out agitations. Under such circumstances, the draft agreement received approval.
The approval was given at the 31st meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs held on the day. As a result, the long-standing uncertainty regarding the appointment of a foreign operator at the New Mooring Container Terminal (NCT) of the port is coming to an end.
Ever since DP World, an institution of the United Arab Emirates, submitted a proposal to operate the NCT, the issue has been subject to various discussions and criticisms. Although the government advanced the process in this regard, various labor and political organizations have been opposing handing over the NCT to foreigners from the beginning and have been continuously carrying out agitations. Under such circumstances, the draft agreement received approval.
Taslim Hossain Selim, general secretary of the Chittagong Port Jatiyatabadi Sramik Dal, said in a press conference on September 19, "If it is given to foreigners, just as the Chittagong Port will head towards losses and lose a skilled workforce, there is also a high likelihood that Bangladesh will face a danger geopolitically."
The Chittagong Sramik Karmachari Oikya Parishad (SKOP) previously claimed in a statement, "Such initiatives have raised serious questions regarding national economic interests, employment, workers' rights, and state control over the port in the future."
Various organizations have been observing different agitation programs, including human chains and rallies in Chittagong, demanding the cancellation of the leasing process to the foreign operator.
