The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) has asked the industries ministry to prepare a position paper explaining the rationale for a proposed Bangladesh Industrial Development Authority (BIDA), officials said.
The ministry of industries (MoI) has also been directed to submit the paper to the PMO in a month, they said. Â
The PMO will circulate the position paper to the ministries, departments and agencies seeking their opinions. After getting the opinions, the PMO will call an urgent meeting on the proposed sole authority, they added. Â
The decision came at a meeting at the PMO held on June 02 last, with principal secretary to the PMO Md Abul Kalam Azad in the chair. Representatives from the different ministries and agencies attended the meeting.
The PMO gave directive to the MoI to take necessary initiative for more industrialisation in the country when she visited the ministry last year.
In line with directive, the PMO took decision to establish a new sole authority to accelerate the pace of industrialisation in the country.
The new authority will operate under the industries ministry. It will be the out of the Bangladesh Export Processing Zones Authority (BEPZA) and the Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority (BEZA).
The main task of the body would be to promote industrialisation in lagging areas, especially in the northern and eastern parts of the country. It would also help expedite the activities of export-oriented industries, an official of the MoI said.
Besides, the proposed entity will help set up industries on unused lands, promote use of modern technology to maximise productivity, create skilled manpower, set up training institute for the country's prospective entrepreneurs, establish cold storages for protecting and ensuring fair prices of agro products and ensure standards of products and intellectual property rights. It would be engaged in preparing laws and ordinances needed for industrialisation, he said.
Experts said that the proposed authority will be unnecessary. It will also add extra expenditure to the state and employ some inexperienced people.
They said that the BEZA, the Board of Investment and the Bangladesh Export Processing Zones Authority also failed to bring necessary investment and operate in the desired level.
The government should concentrate on removing the weaknesses of the existing ones for accelerating industrialisation in the country rather than establishing the new body, they added.
The finance ministry doesn't favour setting up the authority. The ministry thinks that there is no need for the proposed authority in the country.
Public expenditure and bureaucratic complexities will be increased if it is established, according to the finance ministry.
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PMO seeks rationale for setting up industrial dev authority
Rezaul Karim | Published: June 29, 2015 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2024 06:01:00
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