Bangladesh and China launch long-delayed Chattogram industrial zone

Bangladesh and China launched construction on Monday of the Chinese Economic and Industrial Zone near the port city of Chattogram, reviving an 800-acre project first agreed more than a decade ago.

Officials from both countries inaugurated the zone, known as CEIZ, as Bangladesh seeks more foreign investment and expanded industrial production. Bangladesh’s Finance and Planning Minister Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury said the project would support the country’s aim of becoming a trillion-dollar economy by 2034.

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

Yao said the project was expected to create about 100,000 jobs across sectors including ready-made garments, electric vehicles, batteries and medical equipment.

Bangladesh and China signed a memorandum of understanding for the project in 2014, but progress stalled because of delays in appointing a developer, securing financing and obtaining administrative approvals. The source said the project regained momentum after Prime Minister Tarique Rahman’s visit to China in June.