Government cancels 10 economic zones

Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority (BEZA)

The interim government has canceled the activities of 10 economic zones approved during the Awami League government, said Ashiq Chowdhury, executive chairman of the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA) and Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority (BEZA).

The executive chairman of BIDA made the announcement at a press conference held at the Foreign Service Academy on Bailey Road in the capital on Sunday. He said that among the cancelled economic zones, five are government and five are private economic zones.

Ashiq Chowdhury said that today, at the meeting of the BEZA Governing Board chaired by the Chief Advisor, it was decided to finally cancel 10 out of 100 economic zones.

The five government economic zones that have been canceled are Sonadia Ecotourism Park in Cox's Bazar, Sundarbans Tourism Park in Bagerhat, Gazaria Economic Zone in Munshiganj, Sreepur Economic Zone in Gazipur, and Mymensingh Economic Zone.

The private economic zones include the BGMEA Garment Industry Park in Munshiganj, the Chhatak Economic Zone in Sunamganj, the FOMCOM Economic Zone in Bagerhat, the City Special Economic Zone in Dhaka district, and the Sonargaon Economic Zone in Narayanganj.

The previous Awami League government took the initiative to establish 100 economic zones in the country. However, in more than a decade, no successful economic zones have been established except for a few private zones.

In such a situation, the interim government came and started re-evaluating the economic zone plan. As a result, in January, BEZA announced that a short-term and time-bound plan has been undertaken to establish five economic zones instead of 100. They will be implemented within two years.

BEZA Executive Chairman Ashiq Chowdhury said at the time that if these five economic zones are successfully implemented, it will create a positive perception among everyone. It is expected that 133 industries will be built in the five economic zones within two years, an investment of 5.5 billion US dollars and employment of about 238,000 people.

Ashiq Chowdhury had earlier said that the issue of establishing 100 economic zones is not being completely ruled out. It will be part of the long-term plan. The approval of some economic zones may also be canceled. In line with that, the announcement of the cancellation of 10 economic zones was made in the meeting of the BEZA Governing Board.