A writ petition was on Tuesday filed with the High Court challenging the legality of the ongoing process to award the operational responsibility of the New Mooring Container Terminal at Chattogram Port to a foreign company, allegedly bypassing local operators.
The petition, filed by Bangladesh Juba Arthanitibid Forum president Miza Walid Hossain, questioned the transparency and legality of the current contract awarding process, claiming that it excluded local container handling companies from fair competition.
The petition would be moved for hearing by the bench of Justice Md Habibul Gani and Justice Syed Mohammed Tazrul Hossain on May 25, the petitioner鈥檚 lawyer Ahsanul Karim said.
The petitioner sought a High Court directive to ensure that any appointment of an operator for the terminal adheres to the provisions of the Bangladesh Public-Private Partnership Act, 2015 and the Policy for Implementing PPP Projects through Government-to-Government Partnership, 2017.
The writ petitioner urged the court to halt the ongoing process until ensuring a fair, competitive, and legally compliant bidding procedure under the relevant laws and policies.
The shipping secretary and the chairman of the Chattogram Port Authority have been made respondents in the petition.
