Photo: Collected
The agreement was signed at a ceremony held at the Invest Bangladesh office in Agargaon in the capital on Thursday. Shipping Minister Sheikh Rabiul Alam, State Minister for Shipping Md. Rajib Ahsan, Chairman of the Board of Directors of DP World Esa Kazim, UAE Ambassador to Bangladesh Abdullah Ali Al Humudi, Chairman of Invest Bangladesh Ashiq Chowdhury and others were present. Photo – Courtesy of Invest Bangladesh
The Chittagong Port Authority has signed an agreement with Dubai-based company DP World to operate the New Mooring Container Terminal (NCT) of Chittagong Port.
The agreement was signed on the basis of Public-Private Partnership (PPP) for the modernization of NCT.
The agreement was signed at a ceremony held at the Invest Bangladesh office in Agargaon in the capital on Thursday (October 8, 2026). Shipping Minister Sheikh Rabiul Alam, State Minister for Shipping Md. Rajib Ahsan, Chairman of the Board of Directors of DP World Esa Kazim, Ambassador of the United Arab Emirates to Bangladesh Abdullah Ali Al Humudi, Chairman of Invest Bangladesh Ashiq Chowdhury and others were present.
The agreement was signed by Rear Admiral Md. Moniruzzaman, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the company, on behalf of the Chittagong Port Authority, and Esa Kazim, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the company, on behalf of DP World.
At the press conference after the agreement signing ceremony, Shipping Minister Sheikh Rabiul Alam said that DP World has been given the responsibility of operating and managing the terminal for a fixed period of 15 years. The land, infrastructure, ownership and control of the NCT will remain with the Chittagong Port Authority. DP World has pledged to pay an advance fee of about Tk 6 billion at the beginning of the agreement and invest more than Tk 1 billion in modernization, equipment and technology in the first 10 years.
Rabiul Alam also said that there will be a financial penalty if the targets of the agreement are not met. The Chittagong Port Authority will receive a share of the revenue from operating the terminal and a fixed annual fee. DP World will give 67 percent of the revenue from per TEU container handling to the Chittagong Port Authority. If the average revenue per container is $140 to $150, the port's share will be $93 to $103.
At the event, DP World Executive Chairman Esa Kazim said that Bangladesh's importance as a center of trade and production is gradually increasing. Through this partnership, the Newmooring Container Terminal will be connected to DP World's global port, logistics infrastructure and supply chain service network. As a result, Bangladesh's commercial connection with the international market will be easier and more seamless.
Invest Bangladesh Authority said that there are currently four container handling facilities operating at Chittagong Port, one of which is NCT. This terminal, which started operations in 2007, is currently handling about 44 percent of the total container handling of Chittagong Port. Since July 2025, Chittagong Dry Dock Limited, a company of the Bangladesh Navy, has been managing the terminal.
Source: Online/GFMM
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