Chittagong Port Authority (CPA) is going to re-appoint the existing five berth operators in Chittagong sea port despite the objections raised by the cabinet committee on purchase.
The CPA responded to the three specific questions the cabinet committee raised about the present five operators, said a senior official of the committee.
The official said the CPA has already relaxed the eligibility criteria paving the way for the current operators to be reappointed.
The shipping ministry will place such a proposal today at cabinet committee on purchase to get the final nod for the re-appointment of the five berth operators.
Five berth operators are M/S Fazle Sons Limited, M/S Bashir Ahmed Limited, M/S A&J Trader’s, M/S Everest Enterprise and M/S AH Chowdhury Limited.
Earlier on December 10, the shipping ministry’s proposal was rejected by the cabinet committee on public purchase due to lack of transparency. Apart from that, the cabinet committee asked the ministry to answer to three questions regarding the re-appointment.
The job of the five berth operators expired in last October. By the reappointment, they will stay in the office for another three years, according to the proposal.
The total cost of award will be Tk89.98 crore for the five firms, which is 51% increase as projected by the cabinet committee while the CPA has claimed the amount increased by 35.68%.
“It is nothing but a much specialised job of CPA,” said Shahadat Hossain Salim, owner of M/S Everest Enterprise.
He said: “The container handling charge has increased by 29%. So, the rise of cost was logical.”
