Chattogram: The High Court on Thursday dismissed the rule issued on a petition challenging the legality of the Chittagong Port Authority’s (CPA) ongoing process of signing an agreement with a foreign company to operate the New Mooring Container Terminal (NCT) at Chittagong Port. The bench of Justice Zafar Ahmed delivered the order after hearing arguments from lawyers on the matter.
According to United News of Bangladesh, the ruling removes any legal obstacles for the CPA to proceed with the agreement to hand over the operation of the New Mooring Container Terminal to a foreign operator. Additional Attorney General Anik R. Haque noted that the writ petitioners applied to the court of the Chamber Judge seeking a stay of the High Court verdict. However, the Chamber Judge issued a ‘no order’ in response, thereby upholding the High Court’s decision.
The legal representatives for the petitioners included Barrister Zamir Uddin Sircar, Advocate Ahsanul Karim, and Barrister Mahbub Uddin Khokon. Previously, on December 4, the High Court delivered a dissenting verdict on a rule regarding the legality of the CPA’s process to sign an agreement with a foreign company to operate the NCT.
The dissenting verdict was led by Senior Justice Fatema Najib, who declared the CPA’s ongoing process to sign the contract with a foreign company as ultra vires, citing violations of the 2015 Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Act and the 2017 guidelines of the Governance and Transparency Committee (GTC). However, Justice Fatema Anwar disagreed and discharged the rule, rejecting the writ petition. The matter was then referred to a single bench led by Justice Zafar Ahmed for final disposal, which resulted in the recent ruling.
The controversy began on February 17, 2019, when a memorandum of understanding was signed between the CPA and DP World under the PPP framework for the operation of the New Mooring Container Terminal. The writ petition, filed by Mirza Walid Hossain, president of Bangladesh Jubo Arthanitibid Forum, sought a directive for a fair and competitive bidding process. Concerns were raised about reports questioning why the terminal, which already had all infrastructures in place, was being handed over to a foreign entity.
The petition also raised issues regarding the legality of the ongoing process of signing the agreement with the UAE-based company. Initially, the High Court issued a rule on July 30 last year, seeking clarification on why the ongoing process should not be declared ultra vires under the PPP Act and related guidelines. Additionally, the court queried why a fair and competitive public tender should not be conducted before appointing any operator to manage the NCT, leading to the dissenting verdict issued on December 4.
Constructed in 2007, the New Mooring Container Terminal is one of the largest at Chittagong Port, with the port authority investing Tk 2,712 crore in phases for its construction and equipment. The terminal plays a crucial role in handling the majority of import and export containers passing through the Chattogram Port.