28/06/2020
BSEZ a game changer to attract Japanese FDIs
On June 1, 2020, His Excellency Japanese Ambassador to Bangladesh Mr. ITO Naoki, Chief Representative of JICA_Bangladesh Mr. HAYAKAWA Yuho, and BEZA Executive Chairman Mr. Paban visited Araihazar, Narayanganj to observe the progress of the construction of βBangladesh Special Economic Zoneβ (BSEZ) funded by JICA. The Japanese contractor, Toa Corporation, commenced the land filling work of the economic zone in August after the lifting of the lockdown due to the pandemic.
During the visit, Ambassador Ito expressed that the new Economic Zone would become a game-changer to accelerate the inflow of foreign direct investment to Bangladesh, particularly Japanese_FDI in the near future. He also said USD 1.0 billion is expected to be invested in this Zone.
The government of Bangladesh and JICA signed loan agreements for Foreign Direct Investment Promotion Project amounting to nearly 37 billion JPY (about USD 354 million) against an estimated total project cost of 79 billion JPY. Around 30 billion JPY of the loan would be utilized to establish the necessary infrastructure for the BSEZ. The goal of the Project is to support the diversification of industries and to create an investment-friendly environment in order to reduce poverty and improve the living standard by generating employment. A new special purpose company (SPC) has already been established jointly by BEZA and Japanese trading giant Sumitomo Corporation to run the economic zone. The business relationship between Japan and Bangladesh is expected to be further tightened after the opening of the BSEZ at the end of 2022.