The ministry of finance has allocated Tk 420 crore in favour of the proposed Chinese economic and industrial zone in Anwara upazila, Chittagong, as money to be spent on purchasing 794 acres of land by this month. Of the land, 290 acres belong to the government, while the rest 494 acres will be bought from the private land owners. The land purchase would be completed by this month through the Chittagong deputy commissioner office, Pabon Chowdhury, excutive chairman, Bangladesh economic zones authority said. ‘With the release of the fund, the formal development activities to establish the Chinese economic and industrial zone will gather momentum,’ Paban told New Age, and added that a memorandum of understanding between BEZA and China Harbour and Engineering company will be signed on June 16 in Dhaka. Under the MoU, the Chinese state-owned firm will develop the zone site – which is expected to see nearly $2 billion of Chinese investment – by the next three years, he added. The Chinese economic and industrial zone, or 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, officials in the BEZA said. Nearly 400 factories can be set up in the 794-acre zone. The government plans to sign the MoU with China Harbour and Engineering for 50 years, according to BEZA. The zone is 39 kilometers off the Chittagong port, 28km off the Chittagong city and 46km off Chittagong Shah Amanat International Airport. The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) in September last year approved the proposed Chinese Economic & Industrial Zone. BEZA signed an agreement with the Commerce Ministry of China on establishing Chinese economic zone in Bangladesh during Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s visit to China in June, 2014. According to BEZA, special economic zones are there in 119 countries across the world with 2031 are in operation. Out of that number, 436 are in India, 460 in China and about 200 in the Philippines. Currently, the number of approved sites for economic zones, both for local and foreign investors, is 46. Paban said the separate special zones for Japanese and Indian investors would be ready soon. He said the government has plans to establish 100 EZs in the next 15 years, adding, ‘a huge response from both local and overseas potential investors have made us upbeat about the prospects of success of the zones, as investors need not worry about infrastructure and utility connections before parking their fund.’ ‘Once we complete the land acquisition, developers will be appointed to develop the lands,’ Paban said. The government approved the Economic Zones Act in 2010 to attract both foreign and domestic investors. Potential investors from China, Japan and South Korea have, meanwhile, expressed desire to invest in the proposed economic zones.
