Pvt sector to develop Sirajganj economic zone

The government has allowed private sector investors to develop the Sirajganj economic zone (EZ) on 1041.43 acres of land in Sirajganj. The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) Wednesday approved a proposal of the Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority (BEZA) regarding its handover to the private entrepreneurs. Earlier, the BEZA planned to develop the zone under the public-private partnership (PPP) arrangement but the initiative failed due to lukewarm response of investors and a fund crunch. The Sirajganj Economic Zone Ltd, a consortium consisting of knitwear and readymade garment companies, got the approval to develop the EZ. The consortium will pay for the acquired lands as per the government's rules and provide security deposit at a rate of 10 per cent of the land price to the BEZA, officials said. Of the total 1,041.43 acres of land in Sirajganj EZ, about 988.41 acres are khas land of the government and 47.52 acres are private land. The BEZA has been facing problems with finding out entrepreneurs for the government's economic zone since 2012.     In 2012, the BEZA governing body, chaired by the Prime Minister, decided to establish the Sirajganj EZ over the Jamuna the western side of the Bangabandhu Bridge. The BEZA on January, 31, 2013 invited Expression of Interest (EOI) and short-listed three companies for developing the zone. The companies are Dubai Holding Commercial Operation Group LLC, Wishark Enterprises and Quantum Group. However, the BEZA did not get any response from the developers, official sources said. The Deputy Commissioner of Sirajganj estimated the land acquisition cost at Tk 2.41 billion (241 crore). Talking to the FE, BEZA executive chairman Paban Chowdhury said the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the World Bank and the UK Department for International Development (DFID) had declined to support development of the EZ. "We have invited biddings twice but did not get any response from the investors for the Sirajganj EZ," he said. "We have already sent a letter to the consortium for depositing the security money of Tk 250 million to expedite the process," Mr Chowdhury said. Approval of the proposal by the PMO is a blessing as the EZ will help develop the country's northern region, he said. At least 150,000 people would get jobs in the Sirajganj