New Mooring Lease Sparks Protest, Chittagong Port Chairman’s Office to Face Siege on October 13
Workers, employees, and trade union leaders gathered in front of the main gate of the Chittagong Port Authority (CPA) building on Monday, October 5, for a massive sit-in program. The demonstration was organized to demand the immediate cancellation of the draft agreement leasing out the New Mooring Container Terminal (NCT) and its overflow yard to Dubai-based foreign operator DP World. Protesters emphasized that the NCT is a fully self-funded major installation built entirely with Chittagong Port’s own profits.
The sit-in and joint rally were convened following a call by the Port Protection Committee (Bandar Raksha Committee), bringing together a wide coalition of trade unions, dock workers, and political alliances, including the BNP-affiliated workers’ union. Thousands of workers and ordinary citizens joined the peaceful demonstration throughout the day. A heavy police presence and security personnel were deployed and kept on high alert around the surrounding areas to maintain order during the event.
Rally leaders strongly criticized the draft proposal assigning the management of the key terminal to DP World, openly questioning the international operator’s track record and operational experience across different countries. Speakers raised fundamental questions regarding why a highly profitable infrastructure asset should be transferred to a foreign entity, pointing out that the terminal plays a vital role in both national security and the country’s economic stability.
Highlighting the economic significance of the asset, Tapan Dutta, President of the Trade Union Centre (TUC) Chittagong District and Convener of the Port Protection Committee, who chaired the event, likened the NCT to a milch cow. In his presidential address, Mr. Dutta stated, ‘Taking actions against workers and handing over the port and NCT upon assuming power is disheartening. NCT’s earnings have financed major national projects like Payra, Bay Terminal, Matarbari, and Pangaon, and such a vital asset must not be compromised’.
Expressing concern over the administration’s stance, Kazi Sheikh Nurullah Bahar, General Secretary of the BNP Sramik Dal Chittagong Division and former Port CBA Secretary, urged the government to withdraw the current Port Chairman. Mr. Bahar remarked, ‘The current Port Chairman appears desperate to lease out the port to DP World. However, our ongoing movement is not directed against the government itself, but against those individuals who are actively misleading and misdirecting the government’.
During the speeches, leaders revealed that they had learned of hasty preparations underway to sign the lease agreement with DP World on Thursday, October 8. Ibrahim Khokon, Joint Coordinator of the Bandar Raksha Sangram Parishad, explicitly warned the authorities regarding the consequences, stating, ‘Reports suggest that the NCT lease agreement with DP World might be signed on October 8. If this agreement is signed despite our resistance, all port operations will come to an immediate and complete halt’.
Speakers criticized commentators advocating for foreign management, emphasizing that domestic management and local labor have successfully expanded Chittagong Port’s revenue and capacity. Humayun Kabir, Joint Coordinator of the Bandar Raksha Sangram Parishad, stated, ‘Taking a stance in favor of leasing nationally critical infrastructure solely on the grounds of foreign investment, without understanding port operations and ground realities, is entirely unacceptable’. He urged the government to evaluate long-term national interests, economic trade-offs, workers’ rights, and strategic security before entering long-term leases.
Numerous representatives from various organizations addressed the gathering, including S.K. Khoda Totan, President of the Bangladesh Sramik Federation; Ashok Saha, President of CPB Chittagong District; Shafiuddin Kabir Abid, Coordinator of BSD (Marxist); and representatives from SKOP and the Youth Trade Union Network. Moderated by Member Secretary Fazlul Kabir Mintu, the rally united leaders from across the political spectrum against the broader initiatives to lease out both the NCT and Chittagong Container Terminal (CCT) to foreign operators.
To press home their demands, the leaders formally announced an upcoming siege program targeting the Chittagong Port Chairman’s office on October 13 at 11:00 AM. In their concluding statements, the speakers reiterated their call for the complete cancellation of the NCT and CCT foreign lease agreements, urging all political, social, and professional organizations alongside the general public to unite and ensure the success of the upcoming movement to protect the nation’s principal maritime gateway.
