Bangladesh signs agreement with DP World to operate NCT

Bangladesh on Thursday 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, handing 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, even as police broke up a protest against the deal outside the building.

The signing marks a significant shift in the management of Chattogram Port, which handles the overwhelming majority of Bangladesh's seaborne container trade.

NCT alone accounts for approximately 44% of the port's container traffic, making the agreement particularly consequential for the country's importers, exporters and logistics businesses.

According to a government press release, Rear Admiral Md Moniruzzaman, chairman of the Chattogram Port Authority (CPA), signed the agreement on behalf of the port authority.

Essa Kazim, chairman of DP World's board of directors, signed for the UAE company.

Shipping Minister Sheikh Rabiul Alam and State Minister for Shipping Md Rajib Ahsan attended the ceremony.

Invest Bangladesh Chairman Chowdhury Ashik Mahmud Bin Harun and UAE Ambassador Abdulla Ali Al Hamoudi were also present.

Under the concession, DP World will modernise and manage the terminal, while ownership of the land and infrastructure will remain with the CPA and the Bangladesh government.

The arrangement transfers operational responsibility, not legal ownership, to the foreign company.

However, the government has not disclosed in the information provided the full financial terms, investment commitments, revenue-sharing formula or performance obligations attached to the agreement.

These details will be central to assessing whether the concession delivers measurable improvements in efficiency and costs.

A terminal handling nearly half the port's containers

NCT has four container berths and an adjoining overflow yard.

Chattogram Port handled approximately 32 lakh twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in the 2024–25 financial year.

Based on the reported 44% share, NCT accounts for roughly 14 lakh TEUs of annual container traffic, although actual throughput may vary from year to year.

The terminal is therefore central to the movement of imported raw materials, industrial machinery, consumer goods and export shipments, including those serving Bangladesh's garment industry.

For exporters, terminal performance directly affects cargo handling times, shipping schedules and the reliability of supply chains.

For importers, delays can increase storage, transport and financing costs.

The government has presented the agreement as a public-private partnership intended to modernise port operations and improve efficiency.

DP World is a major international port and logistics operator headquartered in Dubai, with operations spanning container terminals, freight handling and supply-chain services.

Its entry into NCT places a substantial part of Bangladesh's busiest port under the management of an international operator.

But the effectiveness of the arrangement will depend on the investment actually delivered, the operational standards imposed and the government's ability to enforce the concession terms.

Questions also remain about the treatment of existing workers, future tariff-setting arrangements and the extent of the port authority's oversight.

The NCT agreement comes amid a broader government effort to involve international operators in Bangladesh's port infrastructure.

Separate proposals and negotiations concerning other terminals, including the Chittagong Container Terminal (CCT), have also brought foreign port companies into discussions over the country's maritime infrastructure.

Police baton-charge protesters outside signing venue

The agreement faced immediate opposition from left-wing political organisations, which accused the government of compromising national sovereignty by handing a strategic port 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 the demonstrators with batons at approximately 2:45pm, about 45 minutes before the agreement was signed.

CPB President Sazzad Zahir Chandan, who joined the protest, told Prothom Alo that the demonstration had been organised by the Anti-Imperialist and Anti-War Alliance.

"We believe this agreement amounts to selling off Bangladesh," he said.

Chandan alleged that DP World had links with the US Navy and argued that allowing the company to operate NCT could create opportunities for 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 allegations about possible US military access were not substantiated in the material provided. The government's description of the agreement does not indicate that military access forms 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 alleged that several leaders and activists, including Chandan, were injured in the police action.

The extent of the injuries could not be independently established from the available accounts.

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