The Chittagong Port Authority (CPA) has moved to fast-track negotiations with Dubai-based global port operator DP World for a lease on its New Mooring Container Terminal (NCT). But two domestic contenders have emerged with separate proposals of their own, claiming they can generate higher revenue for the port than any foreign operator while keeping the country’s most important container infrastructure under local control.
The Saif-Cosmos-Everest Port Services Consortium, led by Saif Powertec Limited, has submitted a bid to operate the terminal for 15 years, shipping ministry sources said. Under the proposal, the port authority would retain full ownership and control of the terminal and continue to collect all vessel and container charges. The consortium would fund operations, manpower, equipment maintenance, fuel and all other day-to-day running costs from its own resources. In return it has asked the port authority for a fee of $69 per twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU) handled.
Citing the CPA’s own audit figures, the consortium calculates the port currently earns an average gross revenue of $161.82 per TEU, against costs of $56.15, yielding net income of $105.67. After paying the consortium its $69 fee, the port would still retain roughly $92 per TEU. For that $69, the consortium says it would shoulder the full burden of fuel, lubricants, electricity, equipment maintenance, spare parts, new equipment, workforce management and container handling. Over the 15-year term, it argues, the CPA would face zero operational or capital expenditure on the terminal’s running and infrastructure upgrade.
Saif Powertec already operates the port’s Chittagong Container Terminal (CCT). Its two consortium partners — Everest Port Services Limited and Cosmos Enterprise — have each been involved in container and cargo handling at the port for decades. The consortium’s partners also carry political weight. Everest Port Services’ managing director, Shahadat Hossain Salim, is the BNP member of parliament for Lakshmipur-1. Cosmos Enterprise’s chairman, ABM Ashraf Uddin Nizan, is the MP for Lakshmipur-4 and a parliamentary whip.
A second proposal has come from the homegrown multinational MGH Group. Both domestic bidders claim they can out-deliver a foreign operator on revenue and ensure the strategic asset remains under national management.
Saif Powertec’s managing director, Tarafder Md Ruhul Amin, told Bonik Barta that the German consultancy Hamburg Port Consulting (HPC) had pegged NCT’s annual operating capacity at 1.1 million TEU, yet domestic operators are already handling roughly 1.33 million TEU a year.
“Handing the country’s most important container terminal straight to a foreign firm, without a competitive tender and shutting out local operators, would be an affront,” Amin said. He added that the consortium had handled nearly 23 million TEUs and 15,156 container vessels since 2006, held internationally recognised certifications, and maintained a full terminal operations management structure with all requisite experience. “Given the opportunity, our consortium can set a new record by handling 1.7 million TEUs a year.”
Cosmos Enterprise, a partner in the consortium, stressed its own record of handling almost 20 million tonnes of breakbulk cargo and 1,865 vessels since 1989. Everest Port Services says it has been active across the port’s operations since 1988.
Everest’s managing director and BNP MP for Lakshmipur-1, Shahadat Hossain Salim, told Bonik Barta the consortium’s letter of proposal detailed plans to further raise the terminal’s capacity through digitalised vessel operations, real-time tracking, TOS-based management, optimised crane allocation and a skilled workforce. “We’ve structured the proposal so that full control of NCT and the authority to collect revenue remain entirely with the port,” Salim said. “Our consortium will shoulder only operations and maintenance, and in return take a per-container fee from the port.”
A PPP-structured proposal from the multinational MGH Group has also been under discussion for the NCT lease. The company has published a detailed comparative analysis in support of its bid, titled “Strength of MGH Proposal than DP World,” in which it claims it can deliver the port $5 more per TEU in revenue than DP World can.
According to the MGH’s proposal, when actual revenue per TEU falls below $115, DP World would pay the port $52; MGH offers $57. If actual revenue falls between $115 and $120, DP World would pay $55.5, while MGH has offered $60.5 under the same bracket. At every revenue band from $120 to $160, the domestic firm bids $5 more than the global operator.
MGH has also offered an upfront concession fee of $25 million, against DP World’s $20 million. It estimates its 15-year contract model would generate around $1.68 billion in total revenue for the port authority.
Raising issues of sovereign and political risk, it noted that DP World is part of a foreign state-owned entity, exposing the arrangement to geopolitical influence and profit repatriation. As a local company, MGH says, a share of its profit would be reinvested domestically.
“We’ve made an extremely attractive offer for NCT operations,” MGH Group Managing Director Anis Ahmed told Bonik Barta. “Because we are a local firm, the money earned from the country’s largest and most strategic terminal will stay in the country.”
MGH highlights its 43-acre Portlink ICD, with a monthly handling capacity of 12,000 TEU, as an additional strength. Existing contracts with seven shipping lines would guarantee cargo flow from day one, it says. The company adds that its proposal is fully compliant with the Chittagong Port Authority Act 2022, PPP guidelines and Bangladesh Bank’s foreign exchange regulations.
“We’re advancing negotiations with DP World,” said Chittagong Port’s acting secretary, Md Nasir Uddin. “If we reach an understanding with the international operator, their experience and potential investment will help sharpen the port’s competitive edge. But if talks fail to produce an agreement, we will then consider the next steps.”