Dubai government-owned international terminal operator DP World has been given an initial 15-year concession to modernise and operate the New Mooring Container Terminal at Chittagong Port under a public-private partnership, with the terminal’s land and infrastructure, as well as its ownership and control, remaining with the Bangladesh government through the Chittagong Port Authority (CPA).

The fixed-term operational concession agreement was signed on Thursday at an event at the Invest Bangladesh auditorium in Dhaka.

CPA chairman Rear Admiral Md Moniruzzaman and DP World’s board chairman Essa Kazim signed for their respective sides in the presence of Shipping Minister Shaikh Rabiul Alam and State Minister for Shipping Md Rajib Ahsan.

UAE Ambassador to Bangladesh Abdulla Ali AlHmoudi and Invest Bangladesh chairman Chowdhury Ashik Mahmud bin Harun also attended.

Under the deal, DP World will pay an upfront fee of nearly BDT 6 billion and has committed to spending more than BDT 10 billion over the first 10 years on modernising the New Mooring Container Terminal, its machinery and technology. The Chittagong Port Authority will receive a share of revenue and a fixed annual fee.

The agreement sets out key performance indicators, regular reporting and financial penalties for missing agreed targets, with the port authority supervising the terminal’s operations through monitoring, audits and scheduled reports.

Security and sovereignty arrangements will not change, including security protocols involving the navy, coast guard, immigration, customs and other relevant state agencies. DP World acquires only the right to operate the terminal, not ownership of the land or the core assets.

The agreement also provides for maintaining local jobs and raising the efficiency of Bangladesh’s port and logistics sector through modern technology and international training.

Speaking at a press briefing after the signing, Shipping Minister Shaikh Rabiul Alam said the government’s aim was to raise the capacity of key existing assets quickly so that NCT could compete more effectively, drawing on modern machinery, digital systems, international-standard management and global logistics connectivity.

“Our wider policy goal is to bring stability to the supply chain by improving the quality and reliability of services, with several international operators running different terminals,” he said.

Asked why NCT had been handed to DP World despite protests from a section, the minister pointed out that the company runs ports in the United Kingdom, the United States and Australia. Eighty percent of the container handling at the world’s ports is carried out by foreign companies, he said, and they are not leasing them out. “This is global demand. Chittagong Port has that much demand; it has to be put to use internationally.”

Several other leading global companies were also coming to the country, he added. “We are bringing in DP World, one of the world’s top five. We are bringing in AP Moller, one of the world’s top five. We are also bringing in PSA Singapore, another of the world’s top five. Had we leased the terminal out and done a transaction, one of the top five certainly would not have come. We are not being swayed into signing an agreement with an obscure, unqualified company from some country. Our position is transparent and entirely clear: economic prosperity, the expansion of trade and commerce, and modern container terminal handling will have a hugely positive effect on Bangladesh’s economy. This is being done as part of that.”

DP World Chairman Essa Kazim said Bangladesh’s importance as a centre of trade and manufacturing was growing steadily and the company was committed to supporting the country’s progress.

The partnership would connect NCT to DP World’s global network of ports, logistics infrastructure and supply-chain services, making Bangladesh’s commercial links with international markets easier and more seamless, he said.

Drawing on its experience, technology and capacity to deliver logistics services at every stage of the supply chain, DP World wants to help expand trade, attract investment and open up fresh opportunities for Bangladeshi businesses, Kazim added.

CPA Chairman Rear Admiral Md Moniruzzaman said the partnership reflected a commitment to strengthening Bangladesh’s maritime and commercial infrastructure through public-private collaboration.

He said NCT had a vital part to play in the country’s trade and logistics, and the agreement would sharpen the terminal’s operating efficiency, ease logistics bottlenecks and deepen its links to international markets. By fostering a more supportive environment for domestic industry and speeding the movement of goods, it would strengthen Bangladesh’s position in regional and global supply chains and lay a firmer foundation for investment and long-term economic growth.

Invest Bangladesh Chairman Ashik Chowdhury said the aim was to bring the country’s trade up to speed with global flows, and bringing DP World into the running of NCT was a major step towards that.

He welcomed the chance to back the public-private initiative at one of Bangladesh’s principal trade gateways, where he said they wanted faster operations, stronger connectivity and better service standards.

The ambition, he said, was to raise the capacity of the country’s port system to meet its trade-expansion needs.

According to Invest Bangladesh, Chittagong Port ranked 364th among 400 container ports in the 2025 Container Port Performance Index (CPPI), which cited long container dwell times, lengthy vessel stays in port and shortcomings in equipment performance and overall productivity.

Nearly 92 percent of Bangladesh’s foreign trade moves through Chittagong Port. Invest Bangladesh says the shortfall in modernisation and efficiency costs the economy about BDT 100 million a day, or more than BDT 30 billion a year. Citing World Bank figures, it says cutting container dwell time by a single day could raise Bangladesh’s exports by as much as 7.4 percent.

Four container-handling facilities currently operate at Chittagong Port. The New Mooring Container Terminal, one of them, began operations in 2007 and now accounts for about 44 percent of the port’s total container handling.

But containers sit at Chittagong Port and NCT for more than nine days, against less than two days at comparable ports. Vessel stays exceed two and a half days, compared with 15 to 24 hours at benchmark ports.