HC order on DP World contract on July 23

The High Court yesterday fixed July 23 for delivering order on a writ petition that challenged the legality of a government decision to initiate process for awarding UAE-based company DP World the contract for container handling operations at New Mooring Container Terminal (NCT) in Chattogram.

The bench of Justice Md Habibul Gani and Justice Sk Tahsin Ali set the date after concluding hearing arguments from the lawyers on the petition.

Senir lawyers Zainul Abedin, AM Mahbub Uddin Khokon, Ahansul Karim and Kayser Kamal and lawyer Md Anwar Hossen appeared for the writ petitioner while Deputy Attorney General (DAG) Mohaddes-Ul-Islam Tutul represented the state during the hearing.

Writ petitioners' lawyers told the HC bench that if the contract for handling operations of NCT is awarded to DP World, national intertest of the country will be damaged.

They prayed to the HC to issue a rule on the authorities concerned of the government to explain why the process for awarding the container handling contract of the NCT to DP World, which is a 100 percent foreign company, without holding any open tender should not be declared illegal.

DAG Mohaddes-Ul-Islam Tutul vehemently opposed the writ petition saying that the government has not taken any decision to give responsibility to any foreign company for operating the NCT.

Bangladesh Jubo Arthanitibid Forum, a philanthropic organisation, submitted the writ petition as a public interest litigation to the HC on March 20, seeking its directive to ensure fair and competitive public bidding before appointing any container terminal handling operator to run the existing NCT.

Earlier, petitioner's lawyer Ahsanul Karim told The Daily Star that the previous government had decided to award the container handling contract of the NCT to DP World in 2019 and the current government has initiated a process to finish the job.