BNP Slams Interim Govt Over Secretive Port Deals with Foreign Firms
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{ "title": "BNP Slams Interim Govt Over Secretive Port Deals with Foreign Firms", "article": "Bangladesh's opposition party, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), has strongly criticized the interim government for signing long-term contracts with foreign companies to manage key ports without public consultation or transparency. The deals, inked last week, grant Netherlands-based APM Terminals BV and Switzerland-based MEDLOG control over the Laldia container terminal in Chattogram and the Pangaon Inland Container Terminal near Dhaka for 30 and 22 years, respectively. BNP's acting chairman, Tarique Rahman, questioned the legitimacy of the interim government to make such agreements, calling it a "strategic commitment over a national asset" that binds future generations. He noted that the Chattogram Port is the country's economic gateway and that decisions regarding its long-term management are far from routine. Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus defended the move, citing the need to bring in global "best" operators to manage the ports. However, the agreements have sparked widespread debate, with politicians, academics, and professionals questioning the interim government's authority to lease out the management of strategic ports. Critics argue that the deals will harm national interests, reduce revenue, and shrink local employment opportunities. They have called for the government to scrap the agreements and make the full texts of the contracts public. A writ petition filed earlier this year against a similar plan to lease out the New Mooring Container Terminal at Chattogram Port to Dubai-based DP World is expected to be decided on December 4. "
