STAR REPORT

In its final days, Bangladesh’s interim government has embarked on a rapid push for long-term, high-value commitments, effectively tying the hands of the elected administration that will succeed it.

Foremost among them is a prospective deal with UAE-based DP World to manage cargo operations at the New Mooring Container Terminal in Chattogram Port, the country’s most strategically important port asset. This follows the November decision to grant Denmark’s APM Terminals a 33-year concession to build and operate the $550 million Laldia Container Terminal. Simultaneously, Switzerland’s Medlog SA is poised to run Pangaon River Port under a 22-year contract.

While Medlog’s appointment followed an open tender, the Laldia and DP World negotiations did not. That lack of competitive bids is fuelling backlash as the interim government’s mandate nears its end. Installed to oversee a smooth transition to elected rule, the interim authority now faces mounting criticism that it is exploiting its status to make opaque, long-term policy decisions with lasting consequences.

Alongside the port deals, the government is fast-tracking a major procurement of 14 Boeing aircraft for Biman Bangladesh Airlines and pushing through promotions of 118 senior bureaucrats. In parallel, a state-appointed commission proposed a public-sector pay hike of as much as 142 percent. Economists warn that the wage increase alone could destabilise already fragile public finances.

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