For the second consecutive day, workers and employees at Chattogram Port have enforced a blockade protesting the government’s decision to appoint a foreign operator at the New Mooring Container Terminal (NCT). The program, organized under the banners of the Nationalist Workers Party and the Workers-Employees Unity Council, has brought the country’s main import-export hub to a standstill. Although limited container handling continues at the jetty, no new goods are entering or leaving the port, raising fears of congestion in yards and off-docks.

The protest follows a High Court ruling favoring the government’s plan to hand over NCT operations to global terminal operator DP World. In response, the port authority has taken a hardline stance, transferring 11 workers so far and preparing a list of 180 for further action. Additional police have been deployed, and gatherings have been banned in the port area. A committee has been formed to assess financial losses, which stakeholders estimate to exceed hundreds of crores of taka.

Business leaders warn that prolonged disruption could harm the national economy, particularly the garment sector, and cause market instability if the deadlock continues.