Bangladesh will not be able to emerge as a middle-income country and achieve the $50 billon garment export target without prioritising development of Chittagong, a leading economist said yesterday. “We cannot achieve the $50 billon export target without opening and widening a second hub for the sector in Chittagong after its huge growth in Dhaka and its adjoining areas,” said Hossain Zillur Rahman. A former adviser to caretaker government, Rahman made the comments while addressing a roundtable on “realising $50 billion target for the garment sector: the Chittagong mission”. Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association or BGMEA and the Chittagong Research Initiative jointly organised the event. Chittagong has the growth potential to attain such goal, he said. Plans are underway to build alternative ports in Payra and Matarbari, although the Chittagong port still has comparative advantages, said Salehuddin Ahmed, former governor of Bangladesh Bank. Ahmed thinks it will be difficult for Payra port to reach the same level as the Chittagong port. Payra would rather serve only the southern region, he said. Saifuzzaman Chowdhury, state minister for land, described proper connectivity as the key to Chittagong’s development. “Chittagong would remain technically isolated from the capital if connectivity is not properly improved. We cannot just let it go like that.” Fouzul Kabir Khan, former power secretary, said the potential of Chittagong should be utilised not only for the sake of the region, but also for the national development. While presenting his keynote paper, Rahman emphasised improving productivity of garment factories, including enhancement of workers’ skills. Bangladesh should go for a twofold market strategy: wider access to the existing primary markets in the US, UK and Canada and looking for new markets in China, Japan and India, he said. Deep-sea ports and other ports like the one in Payra will become a reality after 20 to 30 years, he said. He stressed the need for capacity enhancement of Chittagong port, as it would be a core part to boost garment exports. Rahman pointed out six obstacles preventing Chittagong from becoming a garment hub. The obstacles are: unfriendly attitude of businesses toward new entrepreneurs, image crisis of the port, unplanned infrastructure, energy crisis, shortage of land and stagnant efficiency of the port. He termed the ongoing flyover projects in the port city as “white elephant projects” as they are not linked with the needs to cut the intensifying urban chaos. Garment growth in Dhaka has been driven by individual entrepreneurs with factories on individual lands, while there is an acute scarcity of land in Chittagong, he said. Garment villages could be built in the port city, according to Rahman. Ahmed said the efforts to establish a deep-sea port in Sonadia of Chittagong is not a priority project anymore. The existing facilities of Chittagong, including its port, roads, railways and others, need to be utilised; otherwise the comparative advantages would be lost, he said. Chowdhury, the state minister for land, said the Sonadia port is still a priority project of the government. Prof M Tamim, a panel discussant, said the best solution for the Chittagong industrialists is to search for alternative fuel and improve efficiency. He said the entrepreneurs should sit with the government on alternative energy resources as the country’s natural gas storage is declining. SM Fazlul Haque, former BGMEA president, and Sufi Mohammed Mizanur Rahman, chairman of PHP Group, were also present.
