Local firm Saif Powertec Limited will keep running the Chittagong Container Terminal (CCT) for another three weeks after its contract ran out, the Chattogram Port Authority (CPA) has decided.
The operating agreement, signed on 17 October 2019, was due to end on 2 November. A letter dated 1 November, issued by the CPA’s traffic office (South Division) on behalf of the director of traffic, confirmed the short extension, which was approved by the competent authority. Three weeks from the expiry date takes the arrangement to around 23 November.
Why the stopgap
The port says it needs to avoid any break in terminal operations while it completes the process of picking a new operator for CCT. The shipping ministry has asked Invest Bangladesh to start the process of appointing Saudi-based Red Sea Gateway Terminal International, though the ministry has said no final decision has been taken.
If CCT does go to a foreign company, all four of Chattogram’s container terminals would be run or developed by overseas operators, a prospect that has drawn protests from labour groups and some economists.
Based on reporting by The Business Standard and The Daily Star.
Photo: Motiur Rahman Oni / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
