Land ready to develop Japanese economic zone: Kamal

A total of 1,000 acres of land in Araihazar upazila of Narayanganj has been prepared for a special economic zone (SEZ) dedicated to Japanese investors, according to Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal.

The Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority (Beza) and Bangladesh SEZ Ltd will now sign an agreement to set up the SEZ, Kamal told reporters after a meeting of the cabinet committee on economic affairs yesterday.

Bangladesh SEZ Ltd is a "special purpose company" formed as a joint venture between Beza and Japan's Sumitomo Corporation for the development and management of this economic zone.

At the meeting, the cabinet committee approved in principle the proposal to sign a deal to this end.

Earlier on May 22, 2019, the cabinet committee approved the proposal to form a joint venture between Beza and Sumitomo Corporation to develop the SEZ, which will be run on a government-to-government basis.

In addition, the proposal to ink the development agreement and the land lease agreement was approved at yesterday's meeting.

The roughly Tk 2,582-crore project got approval from the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council in March 2019.

Of the total cost, the government will provide about Tk 454 crore as an investment while the Japan International Cooperation Agency will contribute the rest as a loan.

Once completed, the SEZ will be able to accommodate around 200 companies. As such, the Beza expects multibillion-dollar foreign direct investment in the economic zone.

According to sources at Beza, 160 acres of land has already been handed over to the Japanese authority to set up factories.

Already, 10 Japanese companies have shown interest to invest in the SEZ, they said, adding that Japanese investors are keen to invest in the local automobile, manmade fibre, home appliance, electronics, and toy sectors.