Bangabandhu Shilpa Nagar taking form defying all odds
The Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Shilpa Nagar (BSMSN) seems to be taking form daily as investors have started developing the physical infrastructure of the 30,000-acre economic zone.
While visiting the country's future industrial hub last Friday, this correspondent witnessed massive development works, including earth filling, being carried out by various investors.
Meanwhile, businesses from your home and abroad attended up with investment proposals worth $19 billion for the industrial city, said Paban Chowdhury, executive chairman of Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority (Beza).
Of these, foreign companies, including Wilmar of Singapore, Adani Group and Asian Paints of India, Sojitz Corporation of Japan, Nippon Steel of Japan and Yabang Band of China, wished to invest $10 billion, he said.
"The rest of the $9 billion proposals came from local businesses. The major investors are TK Group, Karmo Foam Industries, Mango Teleservices, BDCOM Online, Bashundhara Group, Siraj Cycle Industries, Abdul Monem Group, Star Consortium and Ayesha Clothing Company."
Out from the around 200 international and local investment proposals, 76 originated from local garment makers, he added.
Moreover, three local entities-Confidence Group, Energypac and state-owned Rural UTILITY COMPANY Ltd-have expressed their willingness to get nearly $3 billion in the energy sector, he said.
"We hope the full total investment in BSMSN will reach $30 billion by 2030, which is equivalent to the full total investment made on all the zones," he added.
Even amid the pandemic, the Beza received over $1.5 billion in investment proposals from your home and abroad.
Factories of 13 different companies, including Asian Paints, McDonald Steel and Modern Synthetic, are actually under construction, he said. "These factories may get into production by another year."
Some other factories are waiting for the utility connections to start their construction work, he said.
Earlier, the World Bank paid $500 million for the development of the industrial city and the global lender attached a condition that no factory should start construction work before getting utility connections.
The Beza executive chairman said they'll use underground water sources for another two and a half years to make sure water supply to the industrial units.
The water will be taken to the surface with the aid of Chattogram Water Supply and Sewerage Authority, he said.
Within the next 90 days, the entire section of the BSMSN will be desalinized, he said.
Local companies want to pour funds into pharmaceutical, chemical, steel, textiles, garments, bicycle, automobile, tire and tube, electronics and ceramic sectors.
Both local and foreign businesses that will invest in the financial zones will love the same facilities, said Chowdhury.
Chowdhury went on to state that more proposals are coming in because of the growing interest of foreign investors.
However, he said the Beza is currently declining proposals as it wouldn't normally be possible to support them all because of a shortage of land in the professional city.
But land will be accessible when they begins land allotment at the Swandip site on the south bank of the Swandip Channel, he said.
At least 1.5 million jobs will be created in the zone and it could become the third most significant city in Bangladesh after Dhaka and Chattogram, as around 15 million persons will stay in the adjoining areas, he said.
According to Chowdhury, just five year ago nobody could suppose this char land would bring about a different Bangladesh by becoming the country's biggest commercial hub.
This zone can help Bangladesh materialise its dream to become high-income nation, he said.
Jinyuan Chemical Industry, a Chinese company which exports chemical products to the united states and Canada, was to set to be the first company to begin operations in the BSMSN in March, however the Covid-19 outbreak delayed the procedure, he said.
"I've received all clearances to begin procedure of the factory," Wang Yang, chairman of Jinyuan Chemical Industry, told The Daily Star ahead of the coronavirus outbreak in March.
Yang had shifted her factory from China to Bangladesh to be able to lessen the tariff burden while exporting products to North America.
"My first aim is to avoid the impacts of the US-China trade conflict and make my products competitive."
Yang had invested $6 million in the first phase of the factory, which created jobs for 50 people. "I intend to increase this investment in the future," she added.
The BSMSN will be the first public monetary zone to get into operation within the government's plan to create 100 industrial enclaves in the united states to improve industrialisation, Chowdhury said.
