HC delivers split verdict on Ctg Port NCT management

The High Court has delivered a split verdict over the legality of the ongoing process for awarding the management of Chattogram Port’s New Mooring Container Terminal (NCT) to a foreign company.

This situation arose after Senior Justice Fatema Najib ruled the contract process illegal, while Junior Justice Fatema Anwar upheld its legality.

As per the law, the Chief Justice will now constitute another bench to resolve the matter.

The hearing, which concluded on November 25, was filed to question the legality of the Chattogram Port Authority’s contract procedure and to seek directives for a fair and competitive tender process.

The petition was filed by Mirza Walid Hossain, president of the Bangladesh Young Economists Forum, citing a April 26 report questioning why the terminal was being handed to a foreign operator despite adequate domestic capacity.

During the hearing, the petitioners were represented by Barristers Jamir Uddin Sircar, Mahbub Uddin Khokon, Kaiser Kamal, and Advocate Ahsanul Karim, while the state was represented by Attorney General Md. Asaduzzaman and Additional Attorney General Aneek R. Haque.

The court had initially issued the rule on July 30, seeking clarification on why the contract process should not be declared ultra vires and why any operator should not be appointed without a fair and competitive public bidding process in accordance with relevant laws and policies.