BEZA Executive Chairman Paban Chowdhury wrote a letter to senior secretary of the Economic Relations Division (ERD) on October 13 making the request. The letter urged the ERD to make provisions for economic zone developers to borrow money from the World Bank’s Investment Promotion Financing Facility (IPFF) project, which is being implemented by Bangladesh Bank. “It is recommended to set a lower rate of interest for the zone developers under the project which can be settled by consulting the World Bank and the Bangladesh Bank,” the letter reads. Providing investors with initial support would enable them to take on the risk of long-term investment, it observed. The recommendations have been made in the letter as per a discussion that took place at a BEZA meeting held on September 19, at which a WB representative told the BEZA that private zone developers would be able to borrow money from the IPFF project. “At this stage of economic zone development in Bangladesh, it is advisable that the project take responsibility of the mode of financing for the economic zone developers,” the letter reads. It said supporting developers would spur investment in the economic zones and help the government achieve its goal of reducing poverty and generating employment by attracting foreign direct investment. Over the last two years, BEZA has issued 12 licences to corporate houses and another six more are expected to be issued within the next six months.
