Chittagong port © Asmtamanna |
Bangladesh has signed a $336m loan agreement with China to expand and modernise Mongla port, as workers at the country’s main container gateway of Chittagong threaten an indefinite hunger strike over a deal handing a major terminal to DP World.
Signed in Dhaka on Sunday, the loan will fund the construction of two container jetties, as well as a cargo and delivery yard, at Mongla, alongside the purchase of modern port equipment, with expectations of an increase in annual capacity of 394,000 teu.
Dhaka-based garment exporter Rafayet Ullah said construction of the Padma Bridge would make Mongla a genuine alternative to Chittagong, telling The Loadstar: “The increased number of jetties and modern equipment means the port will be able to facilitate significant volumes.”
The China-backed expansion comes as authorities in Bangladesh face opposition from port workers over a decision to award DP World a 15-year concession to operate Chittagong’s largest container terminal, the New-mooring Container Terminal (NCT).
Signed on 8 October, extending the concession, the agreement has seen workers and members of left-wing political parties stage mass “symbolic” hunger strikes outside the port as they demanded the deal’s cancellation. And now they plan more drastic action.
Humayun Kabir, coordinator of the Port Protection Sangram Parishad, said that, with government authorities refusing to discuss the deal, workers were “giving the government another bout of time. If the deal is not cancelled, we will go on a ‘fast unto death’ on 19 October”.
Mr Kabir cited other countries, including Djibouti, where port agreements involving DP World had been cancelled, calling for the same outcome in Bangladesh, while colleague Ibrahim Khokon said they had not been adequately informed about the deal before it was signed.