DP World gets NCT. Now comes the hard part
Bangladesh has signed a 15-year concession with Dubai-based DP World to operate, maintain and modernise Chattogram Port’s New Mooring Container Terminal (NCT) and its overflow yard, while ownership remains with the Chattogram Port Authority and the state.
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In a Nutshell
- Bangladesh has signed a 15-year concession with Dubai-based DP World to operate, maintain and modernise Chattogram Port’s New Mooring Container Terminal (NCT) and its overflow yard, while ownership remains with the Chattogram Port Authority and the state.
- The agreement includes an upfront payment of about Tk 600 crore and more than Tk 1,000 crore of investment over the first 10 years for equipment, technology and operational improvements.
- DP World’s role covers terminal operations, including vessel scheduling, cargo handling and container movement, with the stated aim of reducing congestion and turnaround times.
- NCT handles more than 40% of Chattogram Port’s container traffic, making its performance central to Bangladesh’s import and export supply chains.
- Chattogram ranked 364th out of 400 ports in the 2025 Container Port Performance Index; reporting on the deal puts average container dwell time above nine days and vessel time in port at more than 2.5 days.
- Business leaders say better port performance could lower logistics costs and strengthen investor confidence, while warning that efficiency gains must not translate into unjustified tariff increases.
Context
Chattogram is Bangladesh’s principal maritime gateway, so delays there affect manufacturers, importers and exporters across the economy. The World Bank’s Container Port Performance Index measures the time a container ship spends in port, including waiting time and berth time, making it a useful indicator of shipping reliability.
DP World is entering through a public-private partnership rather than an ownership transfer, and the CPA retains the terminal’s land, core infrastructure and assets.
Why It Matters
The deal is a test of whether Bangladesh can convert port reform into lower trade costs at a moment when faster, more reliable logistics matter for export competitiveness and foreign investment. NCT’s share of port traffic means operational gains there could have an outsized effect on the wider Chattogram system.
The gap is clear: Chattogram’s 364th place in the 2025 performance index reflects prolonged vessel and container delays compared with more efficient regional ports. DP World brings global terminal operating experience and investment commitments, but the economic payoff depends on measurable reductions in dwell time, predictable service standards and charges that do not absorb the gains made by traders.
The arrangement also signals that Bangladesh is prepared to use foreign operational expertise while retaining public ownership of strategic infrastructure.
What We Think
Bangladesh’s challenge is in turning the concession into transparent, independently verifiable improvements rather than treating foreign management as an outcome in itself. The contract preserves public ownership and provides upfront revenue, investment and a revenue share for the CPA, creating a basis for public benefit.
Yet the stronger benchmark is operational: vessel time, container dwell time, cargo release time, service reliability and the full cost paid by users.
Publishing these indicators regularly would make it easier to judge performance and protect the public interest. Tariff oversight also matters because exporters and importers gain only if quicker handling reduces total logistics costs rather than merely shifting costs between operators and users.