Home ›› 26 Jan 2023 ›› Front
The government has formed a national committee for overall development of the logistics sector, aiming to achieve the national growth target, strengthen capacity in trade and investment, and ensure efficient transportation of goods and services.
A gazette notification on the “National Logistics Development and Coordination Committee” was issued by the Prime Minister’s Office on January 22.
Another gazette published on Wednesday on the same issue, stated that the 29-member committee is chaired by the principal secretary to the prime minister, with secretaries of various ministries and top officials of departments, as well as the presidents of trade organisations as members.
The director general of the PMO executive cell will serve as the member secretary of the committee.
This committee will formulate the national logistics development policy, provide policy support to attract investment in the sector, and simplify the existing policy framework.
In addition, the committee will also provide overall direction in formulating policies and development strategies for logistics sub-sectors. It will Monitor, review and evaluate the progress of implementing the sector’s overall development strategy.
The committee may co-opt new members if necessary, and invite representatives of local and development aid organisations to meetings. It will coordinate between the relevant ministries, departments, offices, organisations and institutions of the sector. Logistics – the commercial activity of transporting goods to customers – is the main driver of a country’s economic growth.
Various organisations and business leaders, including the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) and Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industries (DCCI) have been demanding a national logistics policy for the development of this sector for years.
The FBCCI is working on a 20-year roadmap for the development of the industry. It believes that effective logistics services are necessary to establish a sustainable supply chain.
Previously, DCCI former president Rizwan Rahman had said a logistics policy should be formulated quickly with the aim of efficient management of the sector. The Logistics Infrastructure Development Working Committee was formed in 2020 as a joint initiative of the PMO and Business Initiative Leading Development (BUILD), to accelerate the country’s export growth.
According to a BUILD report, there is no alternative to an integrated multimodal logistics management system to ensure a $2.5 trillion economy and $1.02 trillion investment by 2041.
A country’s logistics system acts as a key factor in investment decisions. Implementation of the National Logistics Development Policy will ensure sustainable growth of the sub-sectors, industry insiders say. Considering the importance of the logistics sector as a component of infrastructural development, the Ministry of Industry has included it in the Industrial Policy 2022 as a high-priority industrial sector, and also an export diversified sector.
Additionally, 22 logistics sub-sectors have also been included in the National Industrial Policy.