Biggest industrial park planned at Mirsari

The government will begin survey of the ownership of land at Ichakhali Char under Mirsarai upazila in a bid to set up the country's biggest industrial park, officials said. "At first we will the start the survey within a day or two to identify the owners for the purpose of acquisition of the land," Industries Minister Dilip Barua told the FE Tuesday. After more than four decades of efforts, the government has reclaimed the land at the estuary of the Muhuri river and identified it as a suitable site for the proposed industrial park, he said adding this park will have an easy communication with the major sea port. The ministry is going to take over 17,000 acres of land at Ichakhali Char located within 70 kilometres off the Chittagong sea port for the industrial park, he said. Non-availability of land in a suitable location has long been standing in the way of such an industrial park and as a result, the country could not woo foreign direct investment in a larger way, Mr Barua said. After getting favourable place in the major cities of Dhaka and Chittagong, many foreign entrepreneurs will be encouraged to invest in Bangladesh, he said expressing the hope that the proposed industrial park would be a suitable place for the local and foreign entrepreneurs as they would be able to reach the Chittagong port within the shortest possible time. Sitakunda-Fouzdarhat-Mirsarai-Muhuri-Feni-road would be constructed to connect the industrial park with the Chittagong sea port, he added. After completion of the survey a closed dam will be constructed around the Char at a cost of Tk 300 million, Ministry of Industries (MoI) officials said. An inter-ministerial meeting headed by the Industries minister was held Tuesday to discuss the potentiality, project cost and funding and other related issues for the setting up of the park, they added. Representatives from the ministries of Water Resources, Communication, Law, Finance and Power Development Board, Energy Division, Directorate of Land Acquisition and the Deputy commissioner of Chittagong, among other MoI officials, were present in the meeting. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has already asked the officials concerned to speed up the implementation process of the project as the country badly needs foreign investment to boost its economic growth. "Prime Minister's Office issued a letter on January 27 asking the concerned officials to speed up the process," a senior official of MoI said. The officials said their first priority is to take over the 'char' land from the Ministry of Land and at the same time draw up a plan to build up the infrastructure.