Bangladesh's garment exports are growing

Bangladesh's Supreme Court has declared that government approval for the project was illegal, upholding an earlier ruling by the High Court.

The controversial $550m project to build the terminal at state-run Chittagong port would have been the biggest foreign investment in Bangladesh.

Dock workers' unions and local politicians have opposed the new privately-run terminal at the country's biggest port because of fears that it would lead to massive layoffs.

'No transparency'

The Supreme Court upheld the earlier ruling that the government's approval for the project in 1998 was granted illegally.

That ruling said the SSA had been awarded the project without competitive bidding, said lawyers for community groups who brought the case.

It added that the approval process had lacked transparency.

Furthermore, it said the Bangladesh government had been misled about whether the terminal was a joint venture with the US.

Passing the ruling, the High Court judges also ordered any further work on the project to be stopped.

The full bench of the Supreme Court, chaired by Chief Justice Mainur Reza Chowdhury, dismissed the port firm's appeal.

Still fighting?

SSA spokesman Ashrafue Jamilur Rahman said the firm has spent $25m on the project and proposes to file a case against the government to claim financial losses.

He also said that SSA could apply for a review of the judgement if it held the government responsible for any wrongdoing.

No immediate reaction was available from the government on the Supreme Court judgement.

SSA had planned to open the terminal in 1999 and has repeatedly denied that it would lead to job losses.

The SSA has operations in over 150 locations worldwide, including Chittagong and Kakinada and Dhamra in neighbouring India.

The state-run Chittagong Port, on the Bay of Bengal, handles almost 80% of Bangladesh's export and import traffic.