EPZ planned in Patuakhali with hope for $1.5b investment

Bangladesh is gearing up to set up its ninth Export Processing Zone (EPZ) in Patuakhali with a target of fetching $1,530 million in foreign investments and boosting exports by another $1,836 million.

The Bangladesh Export Processing Area Authority (Bepza) will implement the Tk1,475 crore project and has already sent the development project proposal to the Planning Commission for approval.

After the approval process is done, Bepza wants to start the implementation work this year.

Bepza officials said the agency aims to implement the Patuakhali EPZ project without delay as the opening of the Padma Bridge has widened the scope of investment in the country's southern part.

"There are two seaports – Payra and Mongla – near the proposed EPZ. After the launch of the Padma Bridge, Mongla has become a top investment destination. We have started talking to investors about an EPZ in the Barishal zone and they have verbally expressed their interest in investing in that area," Nazma Binte Alamgir, executive director (Public Relations) at Bepza, told The Business Standard.

"This is why it is important to complete the proposed project as soon as possible," she said.

A feasibility study has found 306 industrial plots can be developed on 418 acres of land of the proposed EPZ stretching over Pocha Koralia and Kuakata in Patuakhali.

The EPZ will create employment opportunities for 1 lakh Bangladeshis while another 2 lakh will find jobs there indirectly.

As the project work progresses, foreign investors will be formally offered to invest in Patuakhali EPZ, said Bepza official Nazma.

Meanwhile, officials of the Planning Commission told TBS that they have already started reviewing the proposal.

The project evaluation committee meeting will be held after Eid on 5 July. After this, the proposal will be presented to the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec) meeting for the final approval.

"The land acquisition process will begin after the Ecnec approval. Then the main construction work will start. Our target is to complete the project by June 2026," Nazma Binte Alamgir said.

According to officials concerned, the expenditure of the project will be drawn from the government fund as a loan at 2% interest.

Under the project, environment-friendly industrial plots will be developed for investors with all other necessary supplies and amenities.

EPZs in Bangladesh

Bepza was established in 1980. The agency, operating under the Prime Minister's Office, manages all the EPZs in the country. 

Currently, there are eight EPZs in Bangladesh. The first one was set up in Chattogram by Bepza In 1983 and the other seven were developed in phases over the last three decades.

Work on the Dhaka EPZ began in 1993 and the Dhaka EPZ expansion project was taken up in 1997 after receiving positive feedback from potential investors. 

Later EPZs were set up in Mongla, Cumilla, Ishwardi and Uttara (Nilphamari). Two more EPZs were set up in Adamjee Jute Mills and Chittagong Steel Mills areas.

At present, investments in 456 industries in these EPZs amount to more than $6.04 billion. These zones are producing export goods worth $9.587 billion annually. 

More than five lakh skilled workers in the country's EPZs are manufacturing multi-variety products for world-famous brands.

Satellite towns have been automatically developed around various EPZs of the country. Apart from this, backward and old industrial factories, and accessories industries including transportation, food supply, markets, educational institutions, and hospitals have been developed around the EPZs.