Bangladesh, Oct. 9 -- Bangladesh signed a 15-year concession agreement with UAE-based port operator DP World to modernise and operate the New Mooring Container Terminal (NCT) at Chattogram Port.

The deal hands day-to-day management of one of the country's most important trade facilities to a foreign company.

The agreement was signed at around 3:30pm at the Invest Bangladesh auditorium in Agargaon, Dhaka.

Outside the building, police had broken up a protest against the deal. Chattogram Port handles the overwhelming majority of the country's seaborne container trade, and NCT alone accounts for about 44% of its container traffic.

That makes the deal consequential for importers, exporters and logistics businesses.

According to a governme...