Bangladesh needs to raise its investment significantly for developing the requisite infrastructure to attain a higher economic growth to become a middle-income country, according to World Bank opinion.
"There is still investment gap to the infrastructure development in Bangladesh from both in public and private sectors. It is a big challenge for the country," World Bank Country Director in Bangladesh Johannes Zutt said at a business meet Monday.
He said: "The country's investment-GDP (Gross Domestic Product) ratio needs to be boosted to 33 to 35 per cent for attaining double-digit growth. But, presently, the ratio is 28 to 29 per cent, 5-6 percent lower than the need."
The WB mission chief was talking at the luncheon meeting organized by the Foreign Investors' Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) at a city hotel. President of the FICCI Ms Rupali Chowdhury was in the chair.
Mr Zutt noted that political confrontation is the country's one of the major impediments to attaining the desired economic growth.
He said although Bangladesh's track record in economic development as well as in social development is very good in the past decades, but it still need to go a long way to attain the double-digit growth, targeted in the perspective plan 2021.
The WB country chief laid emphasis on setting up a "north-east South Asian power pool" with Nepal, Bhutan, India and Bangladesh for fuelling economic development of this region.
"Regional power pool could be a good solution for the nations in this region to overcome the energy crisis. The country which will have excess power can export to the deficit country," Mr Zutt told the luncheon meeting of foreign investors.
"Bangladesh is still has constraints in electricity supply. The 10,000-megawatt is not enough for the growing Bangladesh," he noted.
Mr Zutt said: "Insufficient investment in new generation capacity, old power plants operating well below-rated capacity due to inadequate maintenance, low fuel efficiency are the challenges for the economy. Rental plants have eased shortages but increased average cost of electricity."
He emphasised strengthening capacity of the seaports and the main transport corridor, Dhaka-Chittagong highway, for smooth foreign trade.
The WB chief said rapid urbanization is adversely impacting economic performance and general livability of urban settlements as there are inadequate and poor-quality urban services, including transport, water supply and sanitation.
Transform Dhaka into a globally-competitive metropolitan region by establishing a capable metropolitan authority with access to own revenues; professionalizing urban planning; introducing mass rapid transit; and protecting and enhancing social amenities are imperative.
Laying emphasis on public-private partnership (PPP), Mr Zutt suggested identifying 40,000 acres of land for new industrial zones and providing the investors key infrastructure (preferably through PPPs).
The WB country director said many institutions of the country established when the country was at much lower levels of income are not adequate for a nation approaching into a middle-income status.
The country's different institutions need to be improved in a bid to graduate into a middle-income status, he added.
FICCI Vice-President Mr. Geoffrey Strong, Executive Director Mr. Jamil Osman and local and foreign businessmen working in Bangladesh attended the monthly luncheon meet.
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