Jamalpur economic zone will become an industrial hub to export light engineering, readymade garment, consumer goods and food items to northern-eastern states of India Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec) has approved eight development projects worth Tk3,584 crore, including Jamalpur economic zone. The Jamalpur economic zone will be established on 488 acres of land in Jamalpur Sadar at a cost of over Tk302 crore. Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority (BEZA) will implement the project by 2017. The approval came at the Ecnec meeting with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair at the NEC conference room in the capital yesterday. The Jamalpur economic zone will become an industrial hub to export light engineering, readymade garment, consumer goods and food items to northern-eastern states of India, said Planning Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal after the Ecnec meeting. This is the second economic zone that got the Ecnec’s nod after Chinese Economic and Industrial Zone in September last year. BEZA is expected to complete the project by this year to be set up on 774.25 acres of land at Anwara, Chittagong, at a cost of over Tk420 crore exclusively for the Chinese investors. The above two economic zones are of the 17 economic zones proposed by the BEZA to be set up in the country, including three private zones, one in Narsingdi and two in Munshiganj. The other 14 zones will be established in phases at Mirersari, Moulvibazar, Mongla, Sirajganj, Sreepur, Sabrang, Keraniganj, Narayanganj, Bhola, Ashuganj, Panchagarh, Narsingdi, Manikganj, Kushtia and Nilphamari. Of them, Sreepur economic zone like Anwara economic zone will remain exclusive for the Japanese investors. The government plans to establish a total of 100 economic zones in the country by next 15 years. If implemented, the projects would create employment opportunities for about 10 million people and produce exportable goods worth around US$40 billion each year. Apart from Jamalpur economic zone, the Ecnec also approved the National Agricultural Technology Programme-2nd Phase (NATP-2) with an estimated outlay of Tk1,878 crore aiming to improve the overall socioeconomic conditions of farmers. The Planning Minister said: “Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council (BARC), Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE), Department of Fisheries and Department of Livestock Services will jointly implement the project in 270 upazilas of 57 districts by September 2021.” The research activities under the project will be implemented through the participation of enlisted research organisations, universities and private organisations under the National Agricultural Research System through BARC. Kamal said over 28, 40,000 families of the farmers will be benefited from this project while it is also expected to help alleviate poverty once the project is implemented. With the implementation of the project, the minister stated that paddy production in the country was expected to rise by 10%, wheat production by 14% alongside raising the production of fisheries and livestock. The Ecnec meeting also gave nod to another project titled ‘Installation of some 70,000 overloaded distribution transformers under the operations of rural electrification’ with around Tk800 crore.
