BEPZA plans aggressive marketing this year

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Bangladesh Export Processing Zone Authority (BEPZA) will go for aggressive marketing this year to attract investment in three EPZs that remain under-utilised, BEPZA chairman said, reports bdnews24.com
The EPZs are Monglain Khulna, Ishwardi in Pabna and Uttara in Nilphamari districts.
"We'll take an aggressive approach to attract both domestic and foreign investments in these EPZs," BEPZA chairman Brig Gen Ashraf Abdullah Yussuf told a press briefing at his office on BEPZA's activities in the just concluded FY 2006-07.
The BEPZA chairman identified the lack of gas and airport facilities as major obstacles to investment and the cause for the poor investment scenario at Mongla and Uttara EPZs.
Despite gas facilities at Ishwardi EPZ, Yussuf said the expected investment was not materialising there either.
"We have to go for an aggressive marketing campaign," he said.
So far a total of $1.13 billion has been invested in eight EPZs in the country, according to BEPZA. Of this, $152.37 million was invested in the immediate past financial year, an increase of 35 percent over FY 2005-06's $112.89 million.
Some 49 industrial organisations signed agreements worth $566 million with BEPZA during FY 2006-07. This investment will come into force in the current fiscal year.
Replying to a query, BEPZA chairman said the export target for EPZs for the current fiscal is $2.3 billion, up from $2.06 billion in FY 2006-07 and $1.83 billion in FY 2005-06.
Speaking of BEPZA's activities as affected by industrial labour issues, Ashraf Abdullah Yussuf said he took the office last year in a situation of serious labour unrest.
"Now there is no labour unrest. They (the workers) are getting their due payments with all sorts of benefits, including provident fund, leave and other allowances," he said.
Wage increases alone had cost the Dhaka and Chittagong EPZs Tk 2520 million in FY 2006-07, said the chairman
According to official data, some .201 million workers are employed in the EPZs and 23,000 were added in the immediate past fiscal year.
BEPZA has also taken steps to set up two power plants to avert the power crisis that costs investors hugely, Yussuf told the briefing.
"Already a water treatment plant has been set up in Chittagong EPZ," he added.
Further initiatives, including recruitment of manpower and strengthening BEPZA's IT capacity, are also being taken to support the investors, he said.