The shipping ministry has ordered the Chittagong Port Authority to either accelerate talks with Dubai-based DP World over the operation of the New Mooring Container Terminal (NCT) or scrap the process outright. The directive came in a June 4 letter from the ministry’s Development-1 branch to the port chairman.

The letter, on the project “Operation and Maintenance of CPA’s New Mooring Container Terminal including Overflow Container Yard (OCY) by Private Terminal Operator under PPP”, told the authority to advance negotiations with DP World FZE for the appointment of an Independent Terminal Operator (ITO). Should the authority prove unwilling to proceed, it must dismantle the entire process.

The ministry issued the letter in reply to a May 18 letter in which the port authority had briefed it on the matter. The June 4 letter, signed by Senior Assistant Secretary Farzana Hossen, urged a swift resolution.

Port officials said the PPP Authority had earlier written to clarify that full jurisdiction to advance or scrap the talks rested with the port authority and the shipping ministry. After that letter, the ministry sent a separate communication on the same June 4, reiterating the ultimatum and demanding a rapid decision.

The two June 4 letters make it clear that the long-running negotiations remain unsettled and that the pressure for a final call now sits squarely with the Chittagong Port Authority.

The PPP Authority wrote that the NCT project was being implemented under the Public-Private Partnership Act 2015 and the Government-to-Government (G2G) Partnership Policy 2017. It said the evaluation committee mechanism the port authority had previously cited applied to open tender processes, not to G2G projects.

Bilateral G2G framework agreements or memoranda of understanding would govern investor selection and PPP contract terms, under Article 7.4 of the G2G policy. Article 5.2 similarly vests procedural frameworks in bilateral agreements.

The April 4 memorandum of understanding signed last year between the PPP Authority and DP World stipulates in Article 4.6 that once the government selects an investor, that investor negotiates project terms with a committee formed by the relevant ministry or contracting authority. Either party, however, may withdraw from talks at any time.

In view of these provisions, the PPP Authority conveyed that the Chittagong Port Authority and the shipping ministry were free to either advance the negotiations or scrap the process entirely.

The letter, signed by Shahin Iqbal, director of the PPP Authority’s project management and financing wing, responded to an April 29 letter from the port authority.

A senior shipping ministry official, speaking to Bonik Barta on condition of anonymity, said: “After the port authority’s letter, the ministry sent a separate letter on June 4 reiterating the same directive — either push the talks forward or move quickly to scrap the process. This makes plain that the long-running negotiations remain unresolved and that pressure for a final decision now rests squarely with the port authority.”

A review of the documents shows the Chittagong Port Authority wrote to the shipping ministry on April 26 seeking approval to form a tender evaluation and negotiation committee for the project. The ministry replied on May 6. A Zoom meeting followed on May 11 between the port authority, the shipping ministry, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the PPP Authority. Based on that discussion, the port authority forwarded the ministry’s letter to the PPP Authority on May 17 and requested guidance on next steps. The PPP Authority on May 14 had already informed the port authority that the NCT project was being implemented under the G2G Partnership Policy 2017 and that the evaluation committee provisions designed for open tenders did not apply.

Omar Faruk, the Chittagong Port’s director of administration, told Bonik Barta: “The NCT is a critical terminal at the country’s main seaport. Work is underway to boost the port’s capacity and efficiency. Chittagong Dry Dock Limited, a Navy-run concern, currently operates the terminal. Who operates it in future will certainly be decided keeping the country’s interests paramount.”

The NCT is Chittagong Port’s single largest revenue source, a position it has held since its partial opening in 2007 and full commissioning in 2015. Revenue has risen steadily each year. The decision to hand the country’s most profitable terminal — built with public money and consistently in the black — to a foreign operator has drawn persistent questions. DP World, on the other hand, ranks among the world’s largest port operators and is active in more than 70 countries.

The terminal handled 126,496 TEUs this May, the highest monthly throughput in its history, according to port authority figures.

Port sources said the May total comprised 59,851 TEUs of imports and 66,645 TEUs of exports — a daily average of roughly 4,081 TEUs. It surpassed the previous single-month record of 125,533 TEUs, set in October 2025.

Port Secretary Syed Refayet Hamim told Bonik Barta the performance rested on higher handling capacity, faster loading and unloading operations, and more efficient yard management. “Cargo clearance and vessel turnaround times have fallen, a positive development for the country’s foreign trade,” he said.

The decision to hand the New Mooring Container Terminal to a foreign operator was taken by the ousted Awami League government, documents show. The cabinet committee on economic affairs approved its operation under a PPP structure back in March 2023. The International Finance Corporation was subsequently appointed transaction adviser.

Former CPA member Mohammad Zafar Alam told Bonik Barta the terminal already had all infrastructure in place and was running successfully under Navy supervision, as the country’s most profitable terminal, with revenue staying entirely at home. He acknowledged an international operator would “certainly” lift capacity and transparency. “But we think it’s more logical to bring in international-standard operators for greenfield projects where the government has no investment,” he said.

Saif Powertec Limited, a private firm, operated the terminal from its opening until July 6 last year, when its contract expired under the original tender. Chittagong Dry Dock Limited, a Navy-run concern, took over the following day and now supervises all operations.

Negotiations to lease the terminal to DP World for 15 years began under the preceding interim government. That government faced pressure and failed to close the deal. Talks have now restarted.

DP World raised the NCT issue again at a platform meeting in Dubai on April 8. The company sought clearer detail on revenue, cost and staffing structures, pressed for a review of the proposed 15-year concession and stressed the investment needed for modernisation.

The meeting resolved that negotiations must conclude within the “Request for Proposal” validity period and that DP World should submit a revised proposal, if necessary, without delay. Seven years ago, DP World proposed investing $1 billion in Bangladesh’s logistics infrastructure. At the latest meeting, it added new logistics projects to the proposal.

For the April 8 meeting in Dubai, the Bangladesh delegation comprised the PPP Authority’s CEO Chowdhury Ashik Mahmud Bin Harun and three other officials. Dubai’s Ports, Customs and Free Zones Corporation CEO Nasser Abdullah Al Neyadi and DP World Group CEO Yuvraj Narayan led a four-member team.

Shipping Minister Shaikh Rabiul Alam said during an earlier port visit that the DP World proposal held “positive potential” but also “some challenges” that demanded careful examination.