The awarding of jobs to private contractors without tender is a gross violation of Public Procurement Regulation (PPR) 2003, sources said.

Of the 55 stevedoring agencies, who handle the loading and unloading of export and import cargoes inside the Chittagong Port jetty, around 20 are very active and they get the job through negotiation with the port authority without any tender. But after proclamation of PPR in 2003 there is no scope for awarding such contract without tender, said a source.

The Chittagong Port Authority (CPA), however, is claiming that the existing system of awarding job to stevedores is a very old and proven practice for the last 100 years.

A high-powered committee at the CPA appoints the stevedores for two or three years on the basis of price rate, said Captain Quamrul Hasan, member (Operation) of the CPA.

"But we are now seriously thinking of going for floating tender for the job as different trade bodies have been creating pressure on us for this after proclamation of the PPR2003," he told The Daily Star last week.

Around one third of revenue expenditure of the Chittagong Port goes as shore handling charge. As the contract is awarded in an opaque way the tariff and charges of the port become much higher compared to other ports in the neighbouring countries, the source said.

This also enhances the cost of business and slows down the economic growth of the country.

In the 2005-06 fiscal year, the CPA earned Tk 743 crore and from the revenue earning it spent Tk 375.96 crore that includes Tk 79.76 crore paid as shore handling charge.

In the preceding two years, the port spent Tk 83.19 crore and Tk 100.22 crore as shore handling charge. The Chittagong Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) in a letter requested the shipping ministry to instruct the CPA for awarding the shore-handling contract transparently and as per the PPR guideline.

The CCCI thinks transparency in awarding shore handling contract would enhance the productivity and efficiency of the port by reducing the turn around time of the vessels.

If the appointment of stevedores takes place through tender, cargo handling at the port would improve as it would come under proper planning, said Amirul Haque, chairman of port and shipping standing committee of CCCI and FBCCI.

The cost for stevedores goes high as the port officials illegally dictate the number of employees to be appointed in a gang whereas the employer concerned should appoint the employees as per requirement, he said, adding that the CPA has been hostage to 1,435 employees who work under various stevedores' agencies.

The CPA has also renewed some old licences of stevedores' agencies without having no-objection certificate (NOC) from Bangladesh Master Stevedores Association (BMSA). The BMSA in a recent protest letter to the CPA said such renewal violates the previous decisions in this regard.

Demanding cancellation of the licences that have been renewed without NOC, the BMSA said otherwise this type of practice would hamper relation between BMSA and the CPA.