Speakers, including academics, researchers and rights activists on Saturday demanded that the interim government should not lease the New Mooring Container Terminal of the Chittagong Port to a foreign company.
They raised the demand at a discussion on the risks of leasing the port to a foreign company organised by Gonotantrik Odhikar Committee at the Economic Reporters鈥� Forum in the capital.
Addressing the programme, former Jahangirnagar University economics professor Anu Muhammad said that all foreign contracts must be made on the basis of transparency.
He called for increasing the national capacity without relying on foreign powers and demanded the government cancel its decision to lease the terminal to a foreign company to serve the interests of an imperialist group.
Anu Muhammad stated that the policy of serving the interests of the imperialist power had not changed despite the change of government in the country.聽聽
Referring to a statement by the interim government chief adviser, Professor Muhammad Yunus, regarding the lease, Anu Muhammad said that the announcement about resisting the protesters to save national resources was the language of dictatorship and it was not the spirit of the July uprising.
He also called for the success of Dhaka-Chattogram road march in June 27鈥� 28 to be organised by left political parties under the banner of anti-imperialism patriotic people in protest at the interim government鈥檚 move to lease out the port鈥檚 terminal.
Engineer and researcher Kallol Mustafa stated that the national interest was not considered in leasing the port鈥檚 terminal to DP World, a multinational company based in Dubai specialising in cargo logistics, port terminal operations and others.
The process of leasing the port鈥檚 largest terminal during the regime of ousted Awami League in 2023 and the interim government is following it, said the researcher.
鈥楯ust bringing in foreign operators does not ensure efficiency and development,鈥� Kallol said, adding that they also fail if there is a lack of infrastructure, manpower and good governance.
Giving the examples of Mombasa Port in Africa and Guayaquil port in Latin America, Kallol said that foreign management was not able to improve the quality of service, but created problems such as workers鈥� dissatisfaction and an increase in costs.
Researcher and activist Maha Mirza said that privatisation in strategic sectors could not ensure sustainable development rather increased income inequality, labour market contraction and social dissatisfaction.
Chittagong Port former labour leader Sheikh Nurullah Bahar also spoke at the programme while the port鈥檚 former official Zafar Alam spoke virtually joining the programme.