News / Court greenlights DP World lease of Chittagong’s NCT terminal

Bangladesh’s High Court today allowed the government to lease Chittagong port’s biggest container terminal, the New Mooring Container Terminal (NCT), to Dubai-based DP World.

In its verdict it, said the government’s move to hand over the terminal to DP World was legal, and sources said the government was preparing to sign the deal “anytime soon”.

On 5 December, another High Court bench barred the government from awarding NCT to DP World after two judges delivered a divided verdict. One had favoured the government’s move, while the other said it was improper.

NCT, with more than 1m teu handling capacity, had been operated by local operator Saif Powertech since May 2007. But after the expiry of its tenure, the government handed operations to Chittagong Drydock, a company of the Bangladesh Navy, on 6 July 2025.

Justice Zafar Ahmed, sitting as a single High Court bench, said the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Authority and DP World had signed a memorandum of understanding on behalf of the two governments and that the signing was legal.

The ruling said the process followed for leasing out the terminal was under the procurement policy and the memorandum of understanding. The policy gave authority to select an operator under a direct purchase method.

“There is nothing illegal in the process followed by the government,” Helal Uddin Chowdhury, a lawyer for Chittagong Port Authority, told reporters, referring to the verdict.

Business groups have applauded the verdict and urged the government to complete the leasing process as soon as possible.

Mohammad Amirul Haque, president of the Bangladesh Cement Manufacturers Association, told The Loadstar he welcomed foreign investment provided it benefited the country, adding: “What I want is no tariff hike for the port users.”

Alamgir Hossain, an importer of electronic products from China, said DP World was one of the best global port operators and believed once it began operations, productivity and efficiency at NCT would increase.

However, a section of port workers is opposing the deal with DP World. Some workers and employees of Chittagong Port have announced a shutdown programme in the port area on Saturday and Sunday, protesting the court verdict and the government’s actions.

Today, protesters held rallies near the port area under the banner of the Port Protection Council, describing the move to hand over NCT to a foreign operator as “against the national interest”, and demanding its immediate cancellation.

Humayun Kabir, former publicity secretary of the CBA, said domestic operators were capable of operating the terminal.

“There is no logic to appoint a foreign operator,” he said.