Protest Against Chittagong Port Leasing Citizens' Convention Set for August 15

The Port Protection Committee held a protest march on Monday demanding the government halt any plans to lease Chittagong Port facilities—including the New Mooring Container Terminal (NCT) and Chittagong Container Terminal (CCT)—to domestic or foreign entities.

Starting from the Agrabad Badamtali intersection the march was intercepted by police at the Barik Building intersection. Following the intervention Convener Engineer Delwar Majumdar concluded the march with a brief rally. He announced a ‘Port Protection Citizens’ Convention’ scheduled for 10:00 AM on August 15 at the Chittagong Press Club to unite workers academics journalists and civil society against port privatization.

Labor leaders including Tapan Dutta and Kazi Sheikh Nurullah Bahar addressed the rally emphasizing that Chittagong Port is the backbone of Bangladesh’s economy. They warned that handing control to multinational corporations threatens national sovereignty and the livelihoods of millions of transport and dock workers.

While acknowledging the need for modernization protesters insisted capacity-building must occur under state ownership. Rather than leasing national assets they demanded infrastructure upgrades modern equipment and an end to administrative mismanagement.

The rally concluded with unified chants including "Save the port save the country" and "NCT-CCT lease will not be allowed," signaling a larger movement if workers' voices are ignored.