DHAKA -- Bangladesh signed a 15-year deal with DP World on Thursday for the Dubai-based logistics company to operate and maintain the New Mooring Container Terminal (NCT) at the country's largest port, ending years of negotiations over one of the country's most politically sensitive infrastructure projects. The deal comes after years of delays, labor protests and a legal challenge that had left the concession at Chattogram Port in limbo.

The Bangladeshi government, which inherited the deal from previous administrations after coming to power in February, is seeking to upgrade international connectivity ranging from air routes to ports. That is of particular concern after Bangladesh inked trade deals and as it looks ahead to a time when it is no longer classed as a least-developed country, bringing the loss of certain trade benefits. But the DP World agreement has sparked debate about how far the South Asian nation should rely on foreign companies to modernize strategic infrastructure.

The previous administration signed a 30-year port concession deal with Denmark's APM Terminals, part of A.P. Moller-Maersk, in November last year.

"We are undertaking this initiative to make the port more suitable for the modern era, expand its capacity and ensure greater economic prosperity," shipping minister Shaikh Rabiul Alamsaid said at theg ceremony on Thursday. "That is why we are going to entrust the operation and management modernization of the NCT container terminal through an agreement with DP World ... one of the leading companies involved in container terminal handling."

The agreement gives DP World responsibility for operating NCT, which serves as a strategic hub within the port, and its Overflow Container Yard. The company will collect charges from users and make payments to the Chattogram Port Authority, including an upfront payment and fees linked to container handling.

The terms have yet to be confirmed, but it has previously been reported that DP World will pay $50 million upfront, invest at least $90 million over 10 years and pay an annual fee of $750,000 that rises 2.4% annually. It is also expected to pay a tiered royalty of $42.50 to $141.50 per twenty-foot equivalent unit and guarantee minimum annual revenue of $52 million.

NCT handled about 1.4 million containers in the fiscal year through June, or roughly 44% of Chattogram Port's total container traffic. Average revenue from container-handling operations, excluding vessel-related revenue, reportedly stood at $152 per TEU between December and April. At that level, the terminal could generate more than $200 million a year in gross container-handling revenue before costs and revenue-sharing payments.

The government says the deal is part of a broader effort to improve port efficiency, modernize and attract investment into Bangladesh's export-oriented economy. Ashik Chowdhury, chairman of Invest Bangladesh, the government's investment promotion agency, has argued that better port infrastructure is essential if Bangladesh wants to attract major foreign manufacturers and global brands.

Chattogram ranked 364th out of 400 in the World Bank and S&P Global Market Intelligence's assessment of global port performance for 2025. "Without upgrading to global standards, including through public-private partnerships, we will not attract serious foreign investment," Chowdhury said.

Chattogram handles 92% of Bangladesh's trade, according to the government, while roughly 40% of containers leave the port empty, suggesting unused export potential. "Increasing capacity is essential," Rabiul said earlier this year. "New terminals and expansions will strengthen our ability to capture more value from trade." He has also pointed to competition from countries including Vietnam, Sri Lanka and India, which offer incentives to attract investment and strengthen their logistics infrastructure.

"If we want to utilize our full potential, we need to be pragmatic and create conditions that allow us to secure greater benefits," he said.

Supporters of the deal say an international operator can bring more than cranes and cargo-handling equipment. Shamarukh Mohiuddin, a nonresident fellow at the Atlantic Council, said international operators could bring better technology, equipment, management systems and global operating practices. "There is a strong case for it because Bangladesh gets better technology, equipment and management systems, would be adopting global operating practices and there would be faster logistics and better integration into global supply chains," she said.

"Bangladesh could get a much larger digitized logistics network, which could be good for Bangladesh." The deal has faced strong opposition from port workers and others who argue that Bangladesh does not need a foreign operator to run NCT, and that in any case Bangladesh should build its own management capacity rather than outsource the operation of a strategic asset. The terminal has been operating since 2008 -- for most of that time overseen by local company Saif Powertec, but since July 2025 has been operated by state-owned Chittagong Dry Dock Ltd. -- and already has modern container-handling equipment, said Humayun Kabir, president of the Chattogram Bandar Rokkha Sangram Parishad, a group led by port workers.

"There is no need for any investment in NCT under its present operational condition," he said, pointing to the already large container volumes. "Handing it over to any foreign company would effectively amount to giving away an asset that is already generating substantial revenue." The workers' movement has also raised concerns about job security, compensation, continued employment under DP World and employment terms.

With the deal having moved ahead, analysts say there could be a knock-on effect for foreign involvement in other strategic assets and the country's wider political economy.

"In Bangladesh, control over strategic economic assets can create rents for political and business networks," said Zia Hassan, a Germany-based Bangladeshi economist, adding that the decision to proceed with a foreign-operated terminal could signal that attracting foreign investment and improving efficiency is taking precedence over preserving traditional patron-client networks. Masum Billah is a contributing writer.