Bangabandhu Shilpa Nagar gets only 4% of proposed investment

The Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Shilpa Nagar (BSMSN), the biggest economic zone in Bangladesh, is set to be a gamechanger for the country's trade as its strategic location offers easy access to domestic and international markets.

Built on about 33,800 acres of land in Chattogram, the BSMSN is located 200 kilometres from Dhaka and 70 kilometres from both Chattogram port and Shah Amanat International Airport.

So, with easy access to these transport networks leading in and out of the country, the BSMSN found no trouble attracting local and foreign investment proposals worth $18.5 billion in the past four years.

However, the actual implementation of these proposals ever since the economic zone was launched in November 2022 has been going far slower than expected.

This is because a number of investors are complaining of inadequate gas supply and other utility connections, according to officials of the Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority (BEZA).

As such, just 4.15 percent, or $768 million, of the proposed investment has been realised so far with $80 million coming from foreign investors, which is far lower than what they had initially pledged.

Nevertheless, BEZA Executive Chairman Shaikh Yusuf Harun said they expect to see an almost immediate increase in the realisation of investment proposals as measures have been taken to this end.

"We are strongly urging investors who were allotted plots to start establishing industries as per their proposals," he added.

Citing how investors will have their land allocations cancelled for failing to implement projects within the stipulated time, he said Beza has prepared a list of those who will be issued warnings in this regard.

Regarding the allegations of poor gas supply, Harun said they would intervene if any investor faces such problems as they are strict about ensuring proper utility services.

Besides, Beza has already discussed the issue with owners of under construction industrial units and reduced the advance deposit for utility connections to three months from six months.

Harun said foreign direct investment proposals for the BSMSN have come from Japan, China, India, Australia, Germany, the Netherlands, US, UK, Singapore, South Korea and Norway.

Meanwhile, Beza expects the industrial enclave will attract another $500 million as foreign direct investment in different sectors by 2028.

Till now, the state agency tasked with developing economic zones in the country has allocated about 5,271 acres of land at the BSMSN to 152 investors from home and abroad.

Beza aims to attract investments of $20 billion for the BSMSN by 2030, generating employment opportunities for around 14 lakh people at the same time.

So far, five companies have started commercial operations at their industrial units in the industrial zone.

The companies are Nippon Steel of Japan, Marico Bangladesh, Asian Paints Bangladesh, Macdonald Steel and Samuda Construction, a concern of TK group.

Meanwhile, BEZA expects another 21 industrial units that are currently under construction will begin operations by March, creating around 50,000 employment opportunities.

Of them, Modern Syntex Limited, another concern of TK Group, is set to begin commercial activities at its manmade fibre manufacturing plant next month.

Built at a cost of $141 million financed with 30 percent equity while the rest came from banks, the manmade fibre factory will be one of the biggest of its kind in Bangladesh.

The unit was scheduled for commissioning in October last year but the start of its commercial activities was ultimately delayed due to a lack of gas supply.

According to a senior official of TK group, Modern Syntex will be able to meet 38 percent of the country's annual demand for manmade textiles.

Modern Syntex will have a daily production capacity of about 460 tonnes while the present annual demand for manmade textiles in Bangladesh is 12,250 lakh tonnes.

Mir Masud Kabir, managing director of local automobile company Bangladesh Auto Industries Ltd, said they have invested Tk 1,500 crore to set up an electric vehicle manufacturing unit at the BSMSN.

However, they are yet to commission the factory as the gas connection is yet to be installed, he added.

Selim Raihan, executive director of the South Asian Network on Economic Modeling, stressed ensuring smooth utility supplies in line with site development to speed up the actualisation of investment proposals.

Additionally, he urged for reducing bureaucratic tangles, such as delays in releasing goods from customs, to ensure smooth port services for the rapid growth of local and foreign investment.

Besides, Raihan, also a professor of economics at the University of Dhaka, underscored the need for investors to be more cooperative with regulatory bodies instead of creating barriers between them.