PM for exploring new markets

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Thursday stressed diversification of the exportable products, urging businessmen and officials concerned to expand production of export items and explore new global markets to strengthen the country’s economy further through enhanced foreign earnings.

“Product diversification is inevitable to boost our export earnings …” she said while inaugurating the Bangabandhu Bangladesh-China Friendship Exhibition Centre at Purbachal as the chief guest.

Joining virtually from Ganabhaban, the prime minister also underscored the necessity of attaining own efficiency in production to survive in the competitive economy.

She said, “Whenever you (businessmen and entrepreneurs) produce a product, you have to maintain high quality to meet the needs of different countries …. Then you can survive in the market.”

Sheikh Hasina opined all the industries of the country should be prepared from now on to address the upcoming challenges, saying, “The government will extend all cooperation, but your (businessmen) own initiatives have to be there”.

She said product diversification in the country is possible as digital devices are being produced here. “I think digital devices would be the major export items in the coming days,” she added.

Referring to her initiative of setting up 100 economic zones across the country, she said the government has taken steps to create opportunities for local or joint investment there. She added ready-made garments are being given the highest importance as huge number of female workers is working in the sector.

But, at the same time the government is pulling the country ahead prioritising other sectors also, she went on saying.

In addition to readymade garments and knitwear, the premier also urged the businessmen involved in manufacture and export textile, leather and leather industries, ceramic products, frozen, fresh and processed fish, vegetables, fruits, light engineering, furniture, pharmaceutical and pharmaceutical products and small and cott age industries to explore new markets.

With Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi in the chair, Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) Vice Chairman AHM Ahsan delivered the welcome address.

Chinese Ambassador to Bangladesh Li Jiming and Commerce Secretary Tapan Kanti Ghosh also spoke at the ceremony at BBCFEC.

A documentary on the development of Bangladesh and BBCFEC was screened at the function.

The exhibition centre will be the permanent venue for different product- based fairs throughout the year to act as a business hub in the country.

Export Promotion Bureau undertook the BBCFEC Construction Project in Purbachal New City Project Area with co-financing of Bangladesh and China.

China State Construction Engineering Corporation (CSCEC) has built the exhibition centre on 26 acres of land.

BBCFEC has 33,000 square metres of floor space, including two exhibition halls covering 15,418 square meters each, which have the facilities to feature more than 800 stalls.

The modern exhibition centre has its own water treatment plant, CCTV control room, WiFi system for internet, a modern fountain, car parking, fire extinguishing system and remote-controlled entrance gate.

The prime minister said Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman had attached importance on private sector.

Following the footsteps of Bangabandhu, Awami League (AL) government after assuming office in 1996 opened various sectors for private investment to develop new entrepreneurs in the country.

She mentioned her government has established Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority (BEZA) for industrialisation across the country while formed Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA) to ease business here by offering one-stop-service.

She added during the Covid-19 pandemic in the last one and a half year, her government has tried to keep the wheel of economy running and as part of the strategy, a few fairs was organised in limited scale alongside providing special cash incentives.

She continued, “The matter of hope is that the export sector has rebounded very quickly due to the government’s timely incentive packages and policy support”.

In the fiscal year 2020-21, the export revenue has increased by 14.12 per cent compared to the previous financial year amounting to 45.37 billion, the prime minister said.

Sheikh Hasina said setting up and removing of pavilion in the temporary trade fair venue is a money-and-time-consuming matter.

So, Bangabandhu Bangladesh China Friendship Exhibition Centre (BBCFEC) was established to provide a better option to the businessmen to showcase their products, she said.

“Now, they (businessmen) can organise fair in the BBCFEC round the year,” the prime minister said.

On the other hand, BBCFEC becomes an income source of commerce ministry, she added.

She said through this exhibition centre, it will be possible to organise export fair and sourcing fair all over the year to enter the international market with Bangladeshi products.

The head of the government asked ministry of commerce, EPB, exporters and business leaders to make the best use of the centre by organizing export fairs, trade fairs, exporters’ conferences, buyer-seller fairs and other trade promotion activities at BBCFEC.

She thanked the Government of China and its friendly people for their financial and technical assistance in the construction of the exhibition centre.

She also hoped that China will play a role in fulfilling the Chinese President’s pledge of strategic assistance by enriching exports through importing more goods and services from Bangladesh.

Tk 773 crore project

The Bangabandhu Bangladesh-China Friendship Exhibition Centre in Purbachal New Town was inaugurated on Thursday.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina virtually inaugurated the state-of-the-art facility, which will host the Dhaka International Trade Fair in the future.

The exhibition centre’s area is 24,370 square metres while the total floor area is 33,000 square metres.

It has two exhibition halls, and the area of the halls is 15,418 square metres.

There are 800 stalls in the exhibition halls, each with an area of 9.67 square metres.

Besides, there are six acres of open space outside the building where makeshift stalls can be set up.

The area of the parking space is 7,912 square metres. It can accommodate 500 vehicles while another 1,000 can be parked in the open space outside.

Besides, the facility boasts a 473-seat multi-function hall, a 50-seat conference room, six meeting rooms, a 500-seat cafeteria, a kids corner, a prayer room, two offices, a medical room, a guest room, 139 toilets, a built-in public address system, a water treatment plant, a storeroom, a CCTV control room, automated central air-conditioning systems, inbuilt internet and Wi-Fi, fountains, fire extinguishing systems, in-built flag stands, and remote-controlled entrances.

It was built at a cost of Tk 773 crore with financial and technical assistance from China.

Of this, Tk 521 crore came from the Chinese authorities, Tk 231 crore from the Bangladesh government, and Tk 21 crore from the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB).

Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi, who presided over the inauguration, said Bangladesh hosts different local and global fairs every year, but it is difficult to organise these due to the lack of a permanent venue.

He said the prime minister had allotted 20 acres of land in Purbachal in 2015, and another six acres later, to build a permanent facility to host these fairs.

“It was a difficult task to build the exhibition centre during the coronavirus pandemic. Yet, we finished it,” he said.

He said fairs could be organised at the facility round the year.

“We used to organise the international trade fair once a year. Now various organisations can use the facility throughout the year to organise fairs,” he said.

Chinese Ambassador to Bangladesh Li Jiming, who was the special guest on the occasion, said the Chinese market was ready for the high-quality products of Bangladesh, and the exhibition centre would increase trade between the two countries.

He said the construction of the facility was supported as part of China’s Global Development Initiative.

Located in sector 4 of Purbachal New Town near the Kanchan bridge, the facility was supposed to be inaugurated late last year to host the Dhaka International Trade Fair 2021.

But the plan fell through because of the pandemic’s second wave while the trade fair was not organised either.

The commerce ministry said preparations were underway to organise the trade fair at the facility in January next year.

On October 17, 2017, China State Construction Engineering Corporation started the exhibition centre’s construction and announced to finish on November 30, 2020.

The facility was officially handed over to the EPB by the commerce ministry on February 7 this year.