FROM PAGE 16

the evaluation of the technical proposal was conducted on November 5. On November 6, the financial offer was assessed and negotiations began on the same day.

Negotiations between CPA and APM Terminals were completed on November 7 and November 8, which was a weekend.

A ministry official, however, said the negotiations were done on November 9. That day, the CPA board approved the proposals and sent the summary to the shipping ministry.

The following day, it was forwarded to the Ministry of Law. On November 12, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved the final proposal.

The chief adviser gave final approval on November 16, and on the same day, a Letter of Award (LoA) was issued to APM Terminals for the agreement.

Usually, there is a two-week gap between the awarding of LoA and the signing of the contract. But the concession agreement for the Laldia Container Terminal was signed the following day on November 17.

After evaluating the technical and financial proposals submitted by APM, the draft concession agreement was sent to the Legislative and Parliamentary Affairs Division for vetting.

The division later issued a set of specific opinions and recommendations, requesting that these be implemented before finalising the agreement.

The shipping ministry asked the CPA to verify several legal, financial and technical issues before finalising the concession agreement.

The Development-1 Wing of the shipping ministry on November 16 sent a letter signed by Joint Secretary HM Moniruzzaman to the CPA Chairman in this regard.

According to the letter, the draft agreement, submitted for vetting after CPA evaluated APM Terminals’ technical and financial proposals, must be revised in line with specific observations and recommendations made by the legislative division.

One of the key issues flagged is the omission of the date on which the CCEA, now functioning as the Advisers’ Council Committee on Economic Affairs, granted the project’s in-principle approval.

The legislative division noted that the CCEA had approved the PPP project on November 29, 2023 and directed the ministry to ensure that the date is inserted correctly.

It is a big question why the interim government had to sign this agreement amid secrecy, lack of transparency and excessive haste, said noted economist and activist Anu Muhammad.

“What was the necessity behind such haste that the government had to complete the signing of the deal three months before the national election?”

Such hurriedness has created doubt over the government’s motives, he said, while questioning why the two deals with the two foreign operators were signed on the day of the verdict of Sheikh Hasina’s crimes was given.

“That day was chosen to divert people’s attention. The government is saying that the deals were signed for the betterment of the people. So why do the people have no right to know the details of the deals?” he asked.

Former CPA Member Mohammad Zafar Alam, however, said the discussion on the Laldia terminal started ten years ago when a Canadian company was appointed as the transaction adviser.

The latest transaction adviser, the IFC, also worked for months while the CPA officials engaged in talks with APM Terminals for a long period before the deal, he said.

Such a deal involving highly technical issues cannot be done in quick time, said Alam, who believes that due negotiations has been conducted.

He, however, said the Pangaon project was not on the table earlier.

Since Pangaon ICT was a losing concern, there is no matter for concern of losing anymore, he said, adding that it is better that a global logistics operator like Medlog, a subsidiary of renowned shipping line MSC, is hoping to make it efficient.

Chattogram Port Users Forum Convener Amir Humayun Mahmud Chowdhury also said the deal with APM Terminal was not done all on a sudden; rather, it was done after taking enough preparations.

The previous government took the initiative but progressed little, Humayun said, adding that after getting repeated requests from the Danish government the interim government expedited the process.

“Most of our concerns were addressed as a local firm has been partnered with the global operator. We earlier demanded for open tender. But, as APM Terminals, a subsidiary of global shipping giant Maersk, got the work, we welcome them.”