The Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority is planning to implement 20 Special Economic Zones within 20 years under three phases.
The information was revealed on Sunday at a national workshop on 鈥楨conomic Zone Prioritisation and Phasing Offsite Infrastructure Planning and Development Mechanism鈥� at Bangladesh Investment Development Authority conference room in the city.
Executive chairman of BIDA and BEZA Chowdhury Ashik Mahmud Bin Harun chaired the workshop while World Bank country director for Bangladesh and Bhutan Gayle Martin attended the event as a special guest.
The BEZA organised the event with the participation of stakeholders to prepare a National Master Plan for the planned economic zones of the country.
In his speech, Chowdhury Ashik Mahmud Bin Harun said that BEZA had been committed to crafting strategies, developing infrastructure and devising incentive schemes, all of which aim to ensure the alignment of investor interests with BEZA activities.聽
鈥楾here is no alternative to collaborating with foreign investors to advance a mutual economic agenda. Our industrial development going forward must focus on a few key aspects, such as reducing import dependency for backward linkage, utilizing our trade route access, diversifying the trade basket and expanding production and export of higher value and higher margin products,鈥� he added.
He said that BEZA remained committed to ensuring that the economic zones promote industrialisation and sustainable and inclusive development.
聽Environmental considerations, employment generation, skills development and regional balance are key pillars in the master plan, he added.聽
鈥楢dditionally, we are fostering partnerships with the private sector through public-private partnership models and government-to-government collaborations to ensure effective implementation,鈥� he said.
On behalf of the World Bank, Gayle Martin reaffirmed their commitment to supporting Bangladesh in achieving its ambitious economic and industrialization goals.聽
鈥榃e look forward to working with the BEZA, the government, private investors and all stakeholders to create a sustainable, inclusive and globally competitive economic zone ecosystem,鈥� she added.
Project director of the National Special Economic Zone Development Project Abdullah Al Mahmud Faruk delivered the welcome speech while senior adviser to 鈥楾rade, Technology and Skills鈥� team at National Council of Applied Economic Research, India and international consultant on SEZs at Asian Development Bank Aradhna Aggarwal made a presentation on 鈥楽tudy of National Master Plan for Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority鈥�.
Since its inception, Abdullah Al Mahmud Faruk said, the BEZA has been dedicated to transforming Bangladesh into a global investment hub, ensuring sustainable and inclusive industrialization.
鈥楢s we approach a developed country, it is essential to accelerate industrial development and align our strategies with the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Developing well-planned, high-potential economic zones will play a pivotal role in diversifying exports, attracting foreign investments, creating jobs, and ensuring environmental sustainability,鈥� he added.
Aradhna Aggarwal said that the BEZA intended the implementation of EZ development in three phases such as short 鈥� within 0-5 years, medium 鈥� within 5-10 years and long term 鈥� within 10-20 years.
She said that development phases segregated into Phase 1 (FY 24-25 to FY 29-30), Phase 2 (FY30-31 to FY 34-35) and Phase 3 (FY35-36 to FY45-46). 鈥�66 proposed government economic zones were considered for the phasing exercise. Based on land and legal status, 46 proposed zones excluded from any phase and 20 proposed zones were segregated into 3 phases,鈥� she added.
