Bangladesh and China launch Chattogram industrial zone expected to create 100,000 jobs

Bangladesh and China launched construction on Monday of a long-delayed industrial zone near the port city of Chattogram that officials said could create around 100,000 jobs.

Officials from both countries inaugurated the 800-acre Chinese Economic and Industrial Zone, known as CEIZ, more than a decade after the project was first agreed.

Bangladesh’s Finance and Planning Minister Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury said the zone would support the country’s ambition of becoming a trillion-dollar economy by 2034.

China’s ambassador to Bangladesh, Yao Wen, described CEIZ as a flagship project. He said representatives from more than 100 Chinese companies had visited the site and that the zone had attracted about $500 million in potential investment.

The project is expected to support industries including ready-made garments, electric vehicles, batteries and medical equipment.

Bangladesh and China signed a memorandum of understanding for the zone in 2014, but construction was delayed by difficulties appointing a developer, arranging financing and securing administrative approvals.

The project regained momentum after Prime Minister Tarique Rahman visited China in June, according to the source.