CHITTAGONG, July 17: The government will soon decide on the fate of the New Mooring Container Terminal (NMCT) in consultation with all concerned and resume Karnaphuli dredging by cancelling the work order of the Malaysian firm, said Shipping Minister M Shajahan Khan.
He said that responsibility of running the NMCT of Chittagong Port should not be given to any party for a long-term. It should be run like other berths including the Chittagong Container Terminal.
Equipment for the NMCT will also be procured from the coffer of the CPA, he said.
He summed up the decisions of the Chittagong Port Advisory Committee at the end of the meeting in the evening on Wednesday in the city.
"The government will decide shortly on the appointment of an operator for the NCT. On the other hand, the port authority will cancel the work order signed with the Malaysian firm and resume capital dredging in the Karnaphuli river as soon as possible," he said.
Chittagong Port Authority (CPA) officials were criticised in the meeting as they failed to submit the updated picture of the Karnaphuli river capital dredging project as Water Resources Minister Barrister Anisul Islam Mahmud MP said allegations are there that excessive money has been paid to the Malaysian contractor which has left the job unfinished violating the contract with the CPA.
Mr Shajahan Khan said, "The total picture of the Karnaphuli Capital Dredging project should have been presented to the Port Advisory Committee meeting.'' He blamed the port's engineering department for not preparing a clear picture on the project.
Moinuddin Khan Badal MP said, "Vested interest groups are playing with the NCT for which the terminal has remained inoperative for long six years. It is the port authority itself which should run the terminal by procuring equipment from its own fund," he said.
City Mayor M Manjur Alam, Shamsul Huq Chowdhury MP, Chittagong City Awami League president and former mayor ABM Mohiuddin Chowdhury, Shipping Ministry Secretary Syed Manjurul Islam, CPA chairman Rear Admiral Nizamuddin Ahmed, vice president of Chittagong Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry AM Mahbub Chowdhury, secretary general of Bangladesh Reconditioned Vehicles Importers and Dealers Association Mahbubul Haq Chowdhury Babur, Chittagong Customs Clearing and Forwarding Association president Akhtar Hossain, among others, spoke in the meeting chaired by the Shipping Minister who is chairman of the port advisory committee.
The meeting experienced heated debate over appointment of cargo handling operators in the NMCT and the unfinished capital dredging in the Karnaphuli.
Some of the speakers suggested offering the operational activities to the local berth operators, some suggested the CPA to do the cargo handling in the NCT by the port authority itself while a section of them urged authorities to introduce the modern container terminal (NCT) without further delay by inviting quotations from international bidders.
CCCI representative Mahfuzul Haque Shah said the NCT was constructed eight years back but the CPA is yet to make the modern container terminal operational. The terminal should be handed over to an expert and internationally reputed qualified berth operator by inviting tender quotations.
"The process of selecting an operator has been suspended on different occasions on different pleas and cases filed by people concerned. Equipment should be procured by the CPA irrespective of who will run the terminal, be it any local or foreign firm, no matter whatsoever," Shah said.
Berth Operator, Ship Handling and Terminal Operator Owners Association chairman Fazle Ikram Chowdhury argued that other berths will get dried up if the modern NCT is handed over to any foreign firm for a long time.
"It will be a wrong decision of the government if the country's biggest terminal is offered at the behest of foreign firms without procuring the equipment by the port authority itself. Local berth operators are experienced and qualified enough to run the NCT with equipment supplied by the CPA," he said adding that a high-power committee can be formed by the government to check corruption in the whole procurement process.
Almost all speakers in the meeting protested the CPA's latest move to cancel the procurement of cargo handling equipment for the NCT with the fund from the CPA and offer the job to a foreign berth operator through international tender. The CPA took the decision on July 10 last in line with recommendations of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Shipping Ministry.
Mr Mohiuddin Chowdhury circulated copies of the letter he has written to the Shipping Minister dated July 16 that resembles his views on the NCT in the letter he had earlier written to the Prime Minister advocating for offering the terminal operating activities to the local qualified berth operators, and not to any foreign firm.
Karnaphuli dredging contract with KL firm to be scrapped
Our Correspondent | Published: July 18, 2014 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2026 06:01:00
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