Dhaka: The groundbreaking ceremony of the Chinese Economic and Industrial Zone (CEIZ) will be held at Anwara in Chattogram tomorrow, marking the formal launch of one of Bangladesh's largest foreign investment projects aimed at accelerating industrialisation and strengthening economic cooperation with China. Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury is expected to attend the ceremony as the chief guest, with Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed also present as a special guest.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, the ceremony will commence at 11:30 am with the arrival of guests, followed by welcome remarks from the Bangladesh CEIZ Company Limited (BCCL) chairman. The event will feature an audio-visual presentation on the CEIZ project and speeches by several dignitaries, including the President of China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC), the Member of Parliament for Chattogram-13 (Anwara-Karnaphuli), the Chinese Ambassador to Bangladesh, and the Executive Chairman of the Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority (BEZA).
As part of the ceremony, a sub-lease agreement will be signed, and the event will conclude with the unveiling of the CEIZ slogan, the launch of One-Stop Service, the official groundbreaking of the project, and a tree plantation programme. The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) recently approved a supporting infrastructure development project for the economic zone.
The project, set to be implemented by BEZA, involves the construction of a jetty link road, an internal road network, a water reservoir, gas transmission facilities, a Central Effluent Treatment Plant (CETP), a multipurpose jetty, a solid waste collection station, a boundary wall, and power substations. The infrastructure project will be executed from January 2027 to December 2031 at an estimated cost of Tk 4,189 crore.
Out of the total project cost, Tk 2,467 crore is anticipated to come through foreign financing, while Tk 1,722 crore will be provided by the government. The foreign financing is proposed under the Preferential Buyer's Credit (PBC) facility of the Export-Import Bank of China.
The CEIZ is being developed on approximately 783 acres of land on the eastern bank of the Karnaphuli River in Anwara as part of a government-to-government (G2G) initiative between Bangladesh and China. Once operational, the economic zone is expected to attract at least $500 million in foreign direct investment (FDI), create more than 100,000 direct and indirect jobs, promote export-oriented industries, and transform Chattogram into a modern industrial and logistics hub.
Strategically located near the Chattogram Port and Shah Amanat International Airport, the CEIZ is anticipated to significantly enhance Bangladesh's industrial competitiveness and further bolster the Bangladesh-China economic partnership.