Draft economic zone policy suggests 'soft reforms' for industrial parks

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FE Report
The Board of Investment (BoI) is set to issue soon an economic zone policy statement that calls for reforms in the industrial park management.
If finalised, the draft Bangladesh Economic Zone Policy will regulate the country's proposed special economic zones (SEZs) that are designed to link both domestic and international markets, the sources said.
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private sector arm of the World Bank, will submit the draft policy statement to the BoI this week, a BoI official said.
"The policy, we have been told, will be submitted to us this week. Then, we will arrange a consultative meeting with government officials, chamber leaders and experts to discuss it," the official added.
The Infrastructure Investment Facilitation Centre (IIFC), a state-owned consultancy engaged by the IFC, has drafted the policy that has suggested "soft reforms" for industrial parks, managed by the BEPZA and BSCIC.
"The policy is expected to be adopted by the end of this year or early next year. The interim administration will issue a gazette notification that could revolutionise the way the country's traditional industrial parks are being financed and managed," the official pointed out.
"The IFC has already provided its comments on the draft and the global lending agency wants the policy to be issued in a different way ... It will have a statement, implications and comments," IIFC chief executive officer Nazrul Islam said.
The draft policy has suggested the establishment of an Economic Zone Development Company (EZDC) for building such zones that will be larger in size.
Unlike the Export Processing Zones (EPZs), industrial units at SEZs will be allowed to sell their products to the local market in a move to revamp the domestic economy.
The policy has also suggested the creation of Bangladesh Economic Zone Regulatory Commission (BEZRC) as an independent body like the existing commissions, with a view to overseeing the SEZs.
The draft can be dubbed "light-handed", persons involved in preparing it noted, given its flexibility of exploring different options in setting up SEZs.
"The government can adopt land and develop zones and hand those over to investors. It will not give the responsibility of zone development to any unsolicited investor or company, but trade or industrial bodies can be allowed to do the job," said one IIFC expert, referring to the draft.
The policy statement can provide a direction to the interim administration to determine the future status of the Bangladesh Export Processing Zones Authority (BEPZA) and the Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industries Corporation (BSCIC), the experts said.
In cases of BEPZA and BSCIC, the policy has pointed out that the government-owned agencies will be given choice-either they can opt for the economic zone model or stick to their current status.
Currently, the BEPZA is charged with regulating eight publicly-financed EPZs dotted across the country, while a special wing at the Chief Adviser's Office does the same for the Korean Export Processing Zone (KEPZ), a private industrial park.
On the other hand, BSCIC is managing scores of small-scale industrial estates in various parts of the country.