500 acres of land acquired

The government has acquired 500 acres of land for the Bangladesh Special Economic Zone (BSEZ), also known as the Japanese economic zone in Narayanganj’s Araihazar.

The acquired land will soon be handed over to implementing authorities of the project, according to a recent notice issued by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) on 16 October. 

The notice, which was published as a gazette last Wednesday, declared a total of 491.43 acres of land at Araihazar of Narayanganj for the Japanese economic zone in the first phase.

The government plans to allot a total of 1000 acres of land for the economic zone in two phases, sources said, adding that Sumitomo Corporation of Japan and the Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority (BEZA) is jointly developing the project.

The Bangladesh government is jointly funding the project with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

“The remaining 500 acres of land is in process of acquisition. Soon all of the planned land will be allocated for EZ after acquisition,” said Shaikh Mohammad Jobayed Hossain, manager, BEZA.

He also said, “The development work of this economic zone is going on in full swing. Japan’s Sumitomo Corporation is working on this. Besides, the work of setting up the industries has begun.”

He hoped the EZ will begin production by next year.

According to sources, initial discussion on establishing the economic zone began in 2013. The matter was finalised during a visit by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to Japan the following year. Later in March 2019, the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) approved a project titled ‘Infrastructure Development Project for Japanese Economic Zone at Araihazar in Narayanganj’ with an estimated cost of Tk 2,582 crore. The same year, BEZA and Sumitomo Corporation signed an agreement to establish the economic zone. The construction work is estimated to end by 2023.

According to BEZA sources, the acquired land has been initially leased to Sumitomo Corporation for 50 years. Later, the contract period will increase according to their demand. BEZA and Sumitomo will have a 24 per cent and 76 per cent stake respectively in the EZ.

Once established, it will be Japan’s first special economic zone in Bangladesh. At least 40 companies including Sumitomo, Toyota Motor Corporation, Mitsubishi Motors Corporation have already shown interest to invest here. Singer has already started setting up its industry on a plot.

The EZ is expected to accommodate various industries including automobile assembly, manufacturing motorcycles, electronic products, processing agro food, light engineering, garments, pharmaceuticals, etc.