China finally greenlights 300ha special monetary zone in Bangladesh

After five years of delays, China has signalled its intention to get started function urgently on a 300ha business park in Bangladesh.

The Chinese Economic and Industrial Zone (CEIZ), to be developed close to the southeastern port of Chittogram, is expected to take five years to become fully operational.

The zone was first proposed by Sheikh Hasina, the prime minister of Bangladeshi, throughout a visit to Beijing in 2014. The next yr, the Executive Committee of the National Financial Council in China permitted the plan, and the CEIZ Development Company was setup by China Harbour Engineering Firm and Bangladesh Monetary Zones Authority (Beza).

China Harbour agreed a $100m expenditure in scheme and the Bangladeshi federal government allocated $50m, nevertheless the scheme appeared to stall, until earlier this month, when China Harbour wrote to Beza in search of the signing of a deal to permit it to start focus on site.

The Beijing-based company said its $100m was immediately available, and that it could begin advertising the scheme to Chinese enterprises. Relating the Bangladeshi newspaper The Daily Star, a lot more than 60 Chinese issues have expressed fascination in investing nearly $280m in the area, accounting for about 40% of the obtainable land.

It added that it had obtained necessary approvals from China’s Ministry of Commerce and the National Production and Reform Commission, together with its parent, China Communications Engineering Company.

Jiang Wei, project representative of CEIZ, told the Daily Superstar that designs had been finalised and China Harbour was ready to start work on infrastructure production. He explained: “We will give attention to four sectors for purchase in the area - logistics, manufacturing, chemical and readymade garments.”

He added: “CEIZ should be able to eventually attract a lot more than $1bn in foreign investment, create 60,000 to 90,000 careers, directly or perhaps indirectly, and ultimately raise industrialisation and develop the overall economy of the encompassing Chattogram district.”

Paban Chowdhury, executive chairman of Beza, said the Chinese aspect was keen on rapid implementation of the zone to create factories and take good thing about the relatively low tariffs levied over Bangladeshi goods.

Bangladesh presently has 88 special monetary zones, 59 setup by the federal government and 29 by personal investors. Earlier this week, China’s Yabang Group released that it would spend $300m on textile and chemical plants on 40ha of Beza’s flagship Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Shilpanagar zone.