Dhaka: Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority (BEZA) has announced a strategic plan to implement 20 Special Economic Zones (SEZs) over the next 20 years, divided into three phases. The announcement was made during a national workshop on "Economic Zone Prioritization and Phasing Offsite Infrastructure Planning and Development Mechanism" held at the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA) conference room.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, the workshop was chaired by Executive Chairman of BIDA and BEZA, Chowdhury Ashik Mahmud Bin Harun, and featured World Bank Country Director for Bangladesh and Bhutan, Gayle Martin, as a special guest. BEZA organized the event to engage stakeholders in preparing a National Master Plan for the envisioned economic zones across the country.
In his address, Chowdhury Ashik Mahmud Bin Harun highlighted BEZA's commitment to developing strategies, infrastructure, and incentive schemes that align investor interests with BEZA's activities. He emphasized the necessity of collaborating with foreign investors to foster industrial development, focusing on reducing import dependency, utilizing trade routes, diversifying trade, and expanding the production and export of higher-value products.
Chowdhury reiterated BEZA's dedication to promoting industrialization and sustainable development through these economic zones, underscoring the importance of environmental considerations, employment generation, skills development, and regional balance in the master plan. He also noted the fostering of partnerships with the private sector through Public-Private Partnership (PPP) models and Government-to-Government (G2G) collaborations.
Gayle Martin, representing the World Bank, expressed strong support for Bangladesh's economic and industrialization ambitions and pledged to work with BEZA, the government, private investors, and stakeholders in creating a sustainable and competitive economic zone ecosystem.
Abdullah Al Mahmud Faruk, Project Director of the National Special Economic Zone Development Project, delivered the welcome speech, emphasizing BEZA's role in transforming Bangladesh into a global investment hub through sustainable and inclusive industrialization. As Bangladesh progresses towards becoming a developed country, he underscored the importance of accelerating industrial development to align with the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
Aradhna Aggarwal, a Senior Advisor and international consultant on SEZs, presented on the study of the National Master Plan for BEZA. She outlined the phased implementation of EZ development into short-term (0-5 years), medium-term (5-10 years), and long-term (10-20 years) phases. The proposed phasing exercise considered 66 government economic zones, resulting in 20 zones to be developed in three phases, while the rest were excluded due to land and legal considerations.