The government allocated about 291 acres of land to Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority or Beza to develop a special economic zone for Chinese investors in Chittagong. Anwara Economic Zone 2 will be developed as part of a government-to-government deal with China, which will create more than 1.5 lakh jobs in Anwara upazila. Beza has received the Tk 382-crore government land for Tk 4 lakh, according to officials of Chittagong district administration. At least 371 factories can be set up in the 774-acre zone, said Paban Chowdhury, chairman of Beza. The registration for the land was completed on Monday, he said. The government has signed a memorandum with China and has also appointed China Harbour and Engineering Company for developing the zone. The government plans to sign an agreement with the company for 50 years by October, Chowdhury said. The Chinese company has started conducting a feasibility study, which Bangladesh has already done, he said. The zone is 39 kilometres off the Chittagong port, 28km off the Chittagong city and 46km off Shah Amanat International Airport.
