FE Report
A clarion call came from experts Monday for empowering Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority (BEZA) as overall regulator for all types of economic zones to relieve investors of regulatory hassles over the SEZ issues.
In future, BEZA should consider becoming arbiter of all zones, moving away from its zone-development role, they said at a roundtable held in the capital to show what is needed for transforming Bangladesh into a manufacturing hub for desired economic advances.
That way, the speakers added, BEZA can perform its regulatory role efficiently within the boundaries of economic zones while this will ease the doing-business-environment within the zones.
Country's leading research-body Policy Research Institute (PRI) organized the roundtable themed 'Economic Zones-Transforming Bangladesh into a Manufacturing Hub- Key Policy and Regulatory Issues'.
"In future, let BEZA be regulator for all types of zones and each of the zones be spun out public entities working in level playing field along with private and G2G country-specific zones," said Dr. G.M. Khurshid Alam, Operations Director of PRI.
"The One-Stop Service facilities should also be extended to private and the foreign G2G zones," he added.
PRI's views came at a time when the government has taken initiative to develop 100 special economic zones in the country by 2030 to foster private and foreign investment.
As of now, BEZA has earmarked 74 sites for such economic zoning, of which 20 are private zones. So far, the final all-clear has been given for the establishment of five private economic zones.
Once completed, SEZs are expected to create jobs for 10 million people and produce products and services worth US$40 billion.
Reflecting on this mega-initiative, PRI experts, however, pointed out regulatory and institutional issues, infrastructural bottlenecks and lack of adequate skilled human resources as major challenges against implementing the scheme.
"To address the regulatory and institutional challenges, it is important that BEZA is given full authority of overseeing the economic zones so that any regulatory issue can be well coordinated and relevant decision-making process can speed up," Dr. Alam told the meet.
Discussants at the event also observed that Mirsarai Economic Zone, the largest one in the making, must achieve early completion and show success to lead the way.
If Mirsarai Economic Zone is operationalized soon, this will send a positive signal to all investors that Bangladesh is open for business, they said.
Some discussants were also skeptical about the need for 100 economic zones in the country, citing the shortage of land as a major hindrance.
If five or six SEZs can be successfully operationalized within the next three or four years, other zones will also see gradual rollout, they observed.
Executive Chairman of BEZa Paban Chowdhury, who was special guest of event, said the government is planning to create a land bank for the special economic zones within the next two years to address the land-shortage issue.
"Already seven of the economic zones are totally booked, which would attract investment worth US$ 1.4 billion," he added.
Principal SDG Coordinator at the Prime Minister's Office Md. Abul Kalam Azad, who was chief guest, noted that currently, there are huge fallow lands in the southern region of the country which can offer sites for the development of future economic zones in the country.
"Most of the authorities relevant to investment in economic zones, like BIDA, BEZA, BEPZA or PPP Authority, are already under the PMO. So, coordination should not be a big problem," he said.
Executive Director of PRI Dr. Ahsan H Mansur, Managing Director of Abul Monem Economic Zone Limited Mr. ASM Mainuddin Monem and Director of AK Khan and Co. Limited AMM Shahadat Hossain, among others, also spoke on the occasion.
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