The Chattogram port will become more efficient and earn more revenue if a foreign operator is appointed to run the New Mooring Container Terminal (NCT), Chittagong Port Authority (CPA) Chairman Rear Admiral SM Moniruzzaman said today.

He was replying to queries after a view exchange meeting with journalists arranged by the CPA on the eve of the 138th Port Day.

The CPA chairman made the comment amidst opposition raised by some local leaders of some political parties against the government's move to appoint a global operator to run the largest container terminal, which handles 55 percent of the total containers transported through the port.

Local private operator Saif Powertec Ltd is currently operating the NCT.

The CPA chairman said that neither the ownership of NCT nor the country's sovereignty would be at stake if a foreign operator is appointed.

Rather, maximum financial benefit would be gained, and the port's efficiency would be enhanced through competition, he said.

The process of appointing Dubai-based global port operator DP World is ongoing as per a treaty signed between the governments of Bangladesh and the United Arab Emirates.

The port chairman said discussions on the issue are taking place at the policymaking level, while the appointment procedure is yet to be finalised. A transaction adviser is also preparing a report.

He assured that nothing would be done compromising the nation's interest.

Informing that most of the expensive container handling equipment, including quayside gantry cranes at the NCT, are overused, Moniruzzaman said,

"A huge amount of money is needed to procure new equipment, and what we need now is immediate efficient service to ensure uninterrupted import and export activities."

If a global operator is appointed, it would install modern equipment and the latest technology, he added.

Addressing the meeting, the port chairman also said he hoped the ground-breaking ceremony for the construction of two jetties at the Matarbari deep-sea port would be held next month.

The World Bank is providing $650 million for breakwater and channel construction, and an agreement was signed on April 23 in Washington between the Economic Relations Division and the International Development Association, the World Bank's concessional arm.

He also expressed hope that concession agreements with PSA Singapore and DP World would be signed for the construction of two container terminals at Bay Terminal by the end of this year.