Bangladesh to set up Tk 4.2 billion Chittagong economic zone to woo Chinese investors

The government has sanctioned a Tk 4.2 billion project to set up a separate economic and industrial zone in Chittagong’s Anwara to lure in Chinese investors.

Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority (BEZA) will complete the construction of the zone over 774 acres of land by the end of 2016.
 
An Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, on Monday also greenlighted six other projects.
 
Planning Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal told reporters nearly 800 acres of land would be acquired and developed for the project titled ‘Acquisition of Land for Development of Anwara-II Economic Zone’.

"Participation of the private sector is needed for fast economic and industrial development by utilising limited resources,” he said.

"This economic zone for Chinese investors will create a wide range of jobs and scopes to alleviate poverty," Kamal added.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang during Sheikh Hasina’s visit to Beijing in June last year proposed to set up the exclusive economic and industrial zone.

Later, BEZA signed an MoU with the Chinese commerce ministry.

Bangladesh will provide the land on a long-term lease and a firm chosen by China will build the economic zone.

The government will provide 92 percent of the amount allotted for the project which would be used for acquisition of the land, according to the deal.

To reach its Vision-2021 goal, the government plans to create jobs for 10 million people and increase export earnings by $40 billion by setting up 100 economic zones within the next 15 years.

It has also signed MoUs to set up two special economic zones in Mongla and Bherhamara for Indian investors.

Six other projects

The ECNEC on Monday cleared total seven projects with an outlay of more than Tk 50.39 billion.

Mustafa Kamal said the government would provide over Tk 29.16 billion of the projects’ total cost and the remaining Tk 21.23 billion would come as aid from donors.

Bangladesh Agricultural Development Corporation’s ‘Extension of Irrigation Facilities by Using Surface Water through Double Lifting Technology’ project would cost more than Tk 1.18 billion.

The third project ‘Greater Chittagong District Rural Infrastructural Development’ with an outlay of Tk 3.66 billion would be implemented by the Local Government Engineering Department by June 2019.

The project will cover 14 Upazilas of Chittagong and eight Upazilas of Cox's Bazar.

The allotted amount for the fourth one, ‘Second Local Governance Support Project (LGSP-2)’, was increased to more than Tk 39.40 billion from Tk 18.17 billion.

The ‘Bongaon-Nunni-Hatipagar Road Widening and Strengthening Project’ would cost over Tk 636 million.

A project to strengthen the postal transport system was also cleared by the ECNEC with an outlay of over Tk 783 million.

It also okayed a project to establish a Chancery complex in Pakistan’s Islamabad with more than Tk 517 million.