Chittagong Dry Dock Limited (CDDL), Bangladesh's sole dry dock currently operating under the Bangladesh Navy, started running the New Mooring Container Terminal (NCT) of the Chattogram port yesterday, retaining the human resources engaged by the previous operator.

As per a recent government decision, the CDDL will run the NCT for an interim period of six months till a new operator is appointed.

The CDDL was appointed under the Public Procurement Rules, 2008, and the official contract will be finalised soon, confirmed Chittagong Port Authority (CPA) Secretary Md Omar Faruk.

The contract with the previous operator, Saif Powertec Ltd, expired on July 6, and the private company handed over the responsibilities to the CDDL on Monday in the presence of senior officials of the CPA and Bangladesh Navy, he said.

Officials and staff who were managing the NCT's operations will continue serving in their current capacities and come under the authority of the CDDL. "So, there was no change in the usual system," said Faruk.

Saif Powertec Ltd had been running the Chattogram port's two terminals -- Chittagong Container Terminal (CCT) and NCT -- since their inception.

The NCT opened for operations in 2007. Saif Powertec Ltd initially operated two of the NCT's jetties on an ad hoc basis. In 2015, it was directly appointed by the CPA to operate four jetties.

The terminal remained underutilised for eight years following its construction due to a lack of necessary equipment. By 2022, the CPA had completed purchasing and installing the key equipment—quayside gantry cranes.

The NCT handled around 12.61 lakh TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) of containers out of a total of 32.75 lakh TEUs passing through the Chattogram port in 2024, according to official data.

The latest development was in the wake of widespread opposition against a government move to lease out the terminal to a foreign operator, Dubai-based DP World, as well as to renew the contract with Saif Powertec Ltd.

The shipping ministry decided to refrain from renewing the contract with Saif Powertec Ltd. On June 18, the ministry took a decision in principle to run the terminal through the CPA.

During a visit to the port on June 28, Shipping Adviser Brig Gen (retd) M Sakhawat Hussain informed senior CPA officials that the government was considering running the terminal under the Bangladesh Navy for six months with assistance from the CPA.

On July 2, the shipping adviser told journalists in Dhaka that the Bangladesh Navy would operate the terminal using the manpower already in place.