Appellate Division Dismisses Leave to Appeal Over Chattogram Port NCT Operation Agreement

Syed Chabiul Alam

Mar 16, 2026

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Summary

The Appellate Division has dismissed a leave to appeal against the High Court’s verdict that rejected a writ petition challenging the agreement process between the Chattogram Port Authority and a foreign company for operating the New Mooring Container Terminal (NCT). The ruling removes legal obstacles for the government to proceed with the agreement.

The Appellate Division has dismissed the leave to appeal filed against the High Court’s verdict that rejected a writ petition concerning the ongoing agreement process between the Chattogram Port Authority and a foreign company for operating the New Mooring Container Terminal (NCT).

A four-member bench of the Appellate Division, led by Chief Justice Zubayer Rahman Chowdhury, passed the order on Thursday.

Following the order, Additional Attorney General Aneek R. Haque said the High Court’s decision to dismiss the writ petition remains in force. Speaking to Prothom Alo, he said there is now no legal obstacle for the government to proceed with the agreement process related to the terminal’s operation.

The leave to appeal was filed by the Bangladesh Youth Economists Forum through its president, Mirza Walid Hossain, challenging the legality of the agreement process between the Chattogram Port Authority and the foreign company.

On February 17, 2019, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Authority and DP World, a UAE-based company, regarding the operation of the New Mooring Container Terminal. Later, the Bangladesh Youth Economists Forum filed a writ petition questioning the legality of the process.

After a preliminary hearing, the High Court issued a rule on July 30 last year. Following a full hearing, a High Court bench delivered a split verdict on December 4, with one judge declaring the rule absolute and the other dismissing the writ.

After the split verdict, the then Chief Justice referred the matter to a single High Court bench led by Justice Zafar Ahmed for final disposal. On January 29, the single bench dismissed the writ petition, thereby finalizing the decision by majority opinion in the High Court.

Following that verdict, the petitioner filed a leave to appeal in the Appellate Division seeking permission to challenge the decision. After hearing the matter, the Appellate Division dismissed the petition, effectively upholding the High Court’s ruling.