\\\'Passage of PPP act urgent\\\'

FE Report | Published: June 01, 2014 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2026 06:01:00

The government should pass the draft Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Act 2013 in parliament soon for accelerating the economic development of the country, said speakers at a discussion in the capital Saturday.
They said rapid infrastructure development, smooth supply of gas and electricity were vital for implementing PPP projects.
They also stressed the need for private sector involvement in the PPP process and building trust between the government and the private sector.
Their observations came at the roundtable discussion on 'PPP in Bangladesh' at the auditorium of Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) on the day.
The PPP Office under the Prime Minister's Office (PMO), the DCCI and the Business Initiative Leading Development (BUILD) jointly organised the event.
DCCI President Mohammad Shahjahan Khan delivered the address of welcome.
Senior Secretary at the PMO Md Abul Kalam Azad was present as the chief guest while Chairman of BUILD and former president of DCCI Asif Ibrahim was present as the special guest.
The DCCI president said infrastructure development was a must for rapid economic development. PPP could be the best option for attracting local and foreign investments for infrastructure development of the country.
Mr Khan laid emphasis on more private sector involvement in the PPP process and finalising the draft PPP law soon.
Md Abul Kalam Azad said the government would start work for building special economic zones (SEZs) at Mongla in Khulna and in Sirajganj soon.
"PPP initiative has added an impetus to the infrastructure development activities of the country. PPP projects are taken in a transparent way under the direct supervision of the PMO," he said.
He said PPP initiative could play a vital role in successful implementation of future projects.
In this connection he mentioned that the Dhaka-Chittagong four-lane project, Joydebpur-Mymensingh four-lane project and different projects in the energy sector were among the successful projects.
He said the government was committed to eradicating obstacles to the process of investment.
He said that the work of establishing Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) terminal would be completed by the end of 2015 and the government would be able to deliver LNG from that terminal.
He further said that the government was now focusing on generating energy by using local coal.
Asif Ibrahim said PPP had contributed a lot to the infrastructure, health, energy, social service sectors. It also helped attract foreign investment.
He sought more active PPP initiatives in building seaports, railway development, waste management, and the tourism sector.
"We need to go for rapid industrialisation and infrastructure development for ensuring jobs for millions of the unemployed. PPP mechanism could help in this connection," he said.
Chief Executive Officer of the PPP Office Syed Afsor H Uddin in his key-note paper highlighted that the main focus of PPP was on investment opportunities. He said one of the main purposes of PPP was to deliver public services through the private sector.
He mentioned that a fund to the tune of Tk 45 billion was allocated for PPP through Bangladesh Infrastructure Finance Fund Limited (BIFFL), Infrastructure Development Company Limited (IDCOL) and Investment Promotion and Financing Facility (IPPF) cell of Bangladesh Bank.
"Project development takes about 18 months and procurement process takes about 16 months. We are trying to reduce the timeframe," he said. He invited the private sector to come forward to invest in PPP projects.
DCCI directors Humayun Rashid, Abdus Salam, Convener Md Nurul Haque, former director Waqar Ahmad Choudhury, Executive Director & CEO of BIFFL Md Atiquzzaman, Member of BoI (Board of Investment) Navash Chandra Mandal, Managing Director of Abdul Monem Ltd Mainuddin Monem and Adviser of FBCCI (Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry) Manjur Ahmed took part in the open discussion.
Deputy Secretary of the PPP Office Md Abul Bashar gave the vote of thanks.
DCCI vice president Kh Shahidul Islam, directors Haider Ahmed Khan, FCA, Muktar Hossain Chowdhury, Hossain A Sikder, Md Shoaib Choudhury, AKD Khair Mohammad Khan, former vice president Absar Karim Chowdhury and CEO of BUILD Ferdaus Ara Begum, among others, were present.