Unprecedented tender conditions at Chattogram Port allegedly favor two companies

Unprecedented conditions introduced at a Chattogram Port's tender allegedly for favoring two particular companies, stakeholders alleged.

Sources said, the Chattogram Port Authority (CPA) has initiated a process to appoint a new contractor for transporting empty containers between yards within the General Cargo Berth (GCB) area of the port. The tender was published on June 14. However, the five-year tender includes several conditions that, according to critics, can only be fulfilled by two specific companies.

These two companies are Saif Powertec, which is involved in container terminal operations at the port, and Everest Port Services, owned by former BNP Member of Parliament Shahadat Hossain Selim.

Two particular conditions in the tender have sparked controversy. The first concerns a requirement for experience in contracts worth at least BDT 500 million (50 crore).

According to the tender documents, bidders must have successfully completed one or more contracts worth at least BDT 500 million over the past ten years involving the movement of empty containers at any seaport in Bangladesh using their own equipment.

The second condition relates to financial and equipment requirements. Bidders must demonstrate an annual turnover of at least BDT 120 million (12 crore) and financial capacity of BDT 1.05 billion (105 crore). In addition, contractors must supply brand-new, self-owned empty handlers and tractor-trailers. If the productivity of the equipment falls below 70 percent, it must be replaced at the contractor’s own expense.

Khondkar Fazle Akbar Murad, Chief Executive Officer of berth operator M.H. Chowdhury Enterprise, told Asia Post:

“Since there has been no transparent new tender in the past 17 years, it is impossible for anyone other than those two specific companies to possess the required experience. Without substantial bank guarantees, ordinary businesses cannot suddenly invest tens of millions of taka to meet these conditions.”

Difference from Previous Tenders

The financial and experience requirements in the 2009 and 2013 tenders were within the reach of ordinary contractors. At that time, the required bank credit line was only BDT 10 million (1 crore).

In the 2017 tender, bidders only needed experience from two years within the preceding five years. The annual turnover and bank credit line requirements were also limited to BDT 10 million (1 crore), allowing ordinary businesses to participate.

In contrast, the 2026 tender increased the experience requirement from two years to ten years and set the minimum contract value at BDT 500 million (50 crore).

Association Raises Objections

The leading organization representing port operators, the Berth Operators, Ship Handling Operators and Terminal Operators Owners Association, has already submitted a formal complaint to the Chairman of the Chattogram Port Authority. Asia Post obtained a copy of the application.

In the letter, signed by Association President Fazle Ekram Chowdhury, it is stated that if the conditions remain unchanged, only two companies will be eligible to participate in the tender. As a result, the port authority will lose the opportunity to obtain services at the most competitive price. Open competition, the association argues, could save the government and the port authority a significant amount of money.

The application further notes that because tenders have repeatedly been stalled, the current contractor has continued operating since 2013 with outdated and expired equipment, without facing any competition.

The association demanded the immediate removal of the controversial and unreasonable conditions and called for a return to the more open and accessible requirements used in the 2013 and 2017 tenders. Otherwise, it warned, operational costs will rise substantially, negatively affecting Bangladesh’s import-export trade and the broader economy.

Tenders Allegedly Blocked for 17 Years

A review of the past 17 years at Chattogram Port shows a pattern of tenders being halted through legal challenges, allowing certain companies to retain control of the work.

In 2013, Everest Port Service won a four-year contract through a tender process. When the contract expired in 2017, a new tender was announced. However, a lawsuit challenging the tender rules resulted in its suspension. Consequently, the port authority reassigned the work to Everest without a competitive bidding process.

In 2020, another tender was announced, but Everest again filed a lawsuit, effectively blocking the process and retaining control of the contract.

In 2023, two companies qualified for a new tender: Saif Powertec and Everest Port Service. Saif Powertec submitted the lowest bid, offering a price 17 percent below the estimated cost. However, Everest challenged the tender in court, arguing that under the Public Procurement Rules (PPR), discounts exceeding 10 percent were not permissible. As a result, the tender collapsed, and Everest continued operating under a Direct Procurement Method (DPM) arrangement.

Currently, under the DPM process, the port authority pays Everest BDT 196 million (19.6 crore) annually, or BDT 98 million (9.8 crore) every six months.

Khondkar Fazle Akbar Murad said, “Loopholes are deliberately left in the tender process so that legal cases can easily be filed to block it. Once a tender is suspended, the previous company receives the work directly without any competition.”

Alleged Violation of Public Procurement Rules

For this tender, the Chattogram Port Authority formed a five-member Tender Document and Cost Estimate Preparation Committee. The committee is headed by CPA Member (Finance) Md. Mahbub Alam Talukdar and includes a professor from CUET, a representative from the Ministry of Shipping, and other officials.

A berth operator, speaking anonymously, alleged that the committee had seriously violated the fundamental principles of public procurement regulations.

He said, “The conditions have been tailor-made in a way that destroys market competition and grants monopoly advantages to just two specific companies. This is a direct violation of PPR Rule 4 (ensuring open competition) and Rule 47 (reasonable qualification criteria).”

He further claimed that the committee had effectively blocked participation by ordinary and new bidders in order to protect the interests of a group that has benefited from lawsuits and DPM contracts over the past 17 years. Such actions, he argued, contradict legal guidelines aimed at ensuring value for public money and protecting the public interest.

Another businessperson associated with the port, also speaking anonymously, alleged that Saif Powertec and Everest had maintained an informal understanding not to interfere in each other’s businesses. Although other operators expressed interest in handling empty containers, the port authority allegedly ignored them. He claimed that certain dishonest port officials had facilitated this monopolistic arrangement.

Khondkar Fazle Akbar Murad added, “This entire arrangement is designed to favor Everest and Saif Powertec. The tender was not even published in any well-known newspaper. We only learned about it through Facebook.”

Responses from Relevant Parties

When contacted regarding the allegations, Golam Md. Sarwarul Islam, Director (Transport) of Chattogram Port, declined to comment and advised reporters to speak with the port’s spokesperson and Chief Personnel Officer, Md. Nasir Uddin.

Nasir Uddin stated that the concerns regarding the tender conditions would be discussed during the pre-bid meeting scheduled for June 29. He explained that a meeting with potential bidders would be held before the final submission deadline and that any reasonable concerns or complexities could lead to amendments to the tender conditions.

Asia Post also attempted to contact the two companies accused of benefiting from the tender.

Calls to Saif Powertec Managing Director Tarafdar Ruhul Amin were disconnected, and WhatsApp messages sent afterward received no response.

Similarly, Everest Port Services Limited Managing Director Shahadat Hossain Selim could not be reached by phone and did not respond to WhatsApp messages.