Govt to set up free trade zone in Anowara, Ctg

The decision was disclosed today following a meeting of the BEZA governing board  held under the chairmanship of the Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus at the Chief Adviser's Office (CAO) in the city's Tejgaon area.

After the meeting, BEZA Executive Chairman Chowdhury Ashik Mahmud Bin Harun announced that the proposed zone is identified to be located in Anowara, Chattogram, spanning approximately 600 to 650 acres of land.

“The concept of a Free Trade Zone is currently absent in Bangladesh. The proposed zone will function as an offshore territory regarding customs regulations,” he added.

"By 'Free Trade,' we understand an offshore territory. There will be no customs obligations; goods can be re-exported, stored, or manufactured there," he explained.

The BEZA chief mentioned that the primary strategic goal of the FTZ is to drastically reduce the time to market for raw materials, a critical factor for the export-oriented manufacturing sector.
 
He cited the example of American cotton to illustrate the zone's utility.

Currently, he said, importing American cotton takes a significant amount of time after an order is placed, which is often not viable for quick-turnaround orders.

Under the new plan, he mentioned, materials like cotton could be stored in the FTZ—technically outside of Bangladesh's customs territory—and accessed immediately by local manufacturers when needed, or re-exported to other markets like Vietnam if demand dictates.

 This setup is expected to resolve the time-to-market constraints significantly, he added.

He hoped that the initiative draws inspiration from global benchmarks, specifically the Jebel Ali Free Zone in Dubai.

"If you want to see a global example, there is a port in Dubai called Jebel Ali... a zone of over 14,000 acres," he noted.

Ashik Chowdhury  highlighted that the Dubai free zone independently handles a trade volume of $190 billion—higher than Bangladesh's total trade volume—and contributes approximately 36% to Dubai's GDP.

Bangladesh aims to replicate this success to generate offshore trade economic movement, he added.

While the policy has received initial support from the BEZA governing board, he informed that the proposal will be forwarded to the Cabinet for final approval.

He also mentioned that implementing the FTZ will require amendments to existing laws, rules, and policies, a process expected to be carried out by the next government over time.

However, he is optimistic about reaching an initial milestone regarding the zone's establishment by the end of this year.

At the meeting, Ashik Chowdhury also informed that  BEZA governing board has approved a policy decision to establish a dedicated ‘Defence Industrial Park'
 
He confirmed that the park will be situated in Mirsarai, utilizing approximately 80 acres of land that has been specifically earmarked for this purpose.
 
“The selected site in Mirsarai holds strategic significance regarding land utilization. Until June of last year, this specific plot was designated for the Indian Economic Zone,” he added.
 
"Many of you have heard that the project was cancelled, so the land was available," he explained during the briefing.
 
"We are repurposing that place as a Defence Industrial Park, and it will be included in the BEZA Master Plan,” he added.
  
He highlighted that the global defence industry is growing, and there is a viable opportunity for Bangladesh to enter the market as a participant country.
 
Beyond economics, he said, the park aims to secure the country's supply chain for essential military hardware.
 
 Citing recent global conflicts, he noted that supply shortages often occur not in high-tech machinery like fifth or sixth-generation fighters, but in fundamental supplies such as bullets and tank axles.
 
"If there is a supply shortage... and you don't have bullets, you don't have the opportunity to go to war," he stated, emphasizing the urgent need for captive capacity to manufacture these essentials domestically.
 
He mentioned that the proposal is the result of long-term collaboration between the Armed Forces Division, BEZA, the Chief Adviser’s Office, and the Ministry of Defence.
 
 With the governing board's policy approval, he said, the inclusion of the Defence Industrial Park into the national economic zone master plan is set to proceed immediately.

Ashik Chowdhury also announced that the board has taken a policy decision to repurpose the Kushtia Sugar Mill into a full-fledged industrial park, reports BSS. 

He acknowledged that many sugar mills are currently struggling to operate efficiently.

The new plan involves a collaborative effort to transform the Kushtia Sugar Mill site into an economic zone under BEZA's supervision, he added.