Interim govt plans free trade zone amid rising global interest

The interim government has announced plans to establish a Free Trade Zone (FTZ) in the country, aligning with the growing global trend of trade liberalisation and investment facilitation.

A national committee has already been formed to look into the issues of establishing such FTZ within a year, according to a media release issued from the Chief Adviser’s Press Wing.

Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority (BEZA) formed a national committee on April 21 to explore the feasibility of establishing an FTZ in Bangladesh.

The first meeting of the committee is scheduled to be held on May 6 with Executive Chairman of the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority and BEZA Chowdhury Ashik Mahmud in the chair.

Representatives from BEZA, Commerce Ministry, Economic Relation Division (ERD), Industries Ministry, National Board of Revenue (NBR), Chittagong Port Authority (CPA) and Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA) were included in the committee.

The committee is tasked with reviewing existing laws—such as the Bangladesh Economic Zones Act, the Customs Act and import-export regulations—and recommending necessary amendments or the formulation of new laws, rules and guidelines conducive to the establishment of FTZs.

Commerce Adviser Sk Bashir Uddin along with the Executive Chairmen of BEZA and BIDA will jointly implement the FTZ.

Regarding Bangladesh’s FTZ plans, Ashik Chowdhury said, "We have initiated the process of transforming Bangladesh into a global manufacturing hub and FTZs will play a pivotal role in that transformation."

With effective coordination from the national committee and proactive support from relevant ministries, it would be possible to declare an FTZ within the current year, he added.

As part of the Bangladesh Investment Summit held from April 7-10, a sensitisation seminar was held in collaboration with FTZ operator DP World.

During the session, DP World presented its global operations.

Chairman of DP World met the Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus and expressed keen interest in investing in Bangladesh, reports UNB.