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Gazipur EPZ project put off due to difficulties in acquiring land

By Rafiq Hasan
The government has decided to 'postpone setting up of an Export Processing Zone (EPZ) In (Jazipur because of difficulties in acquisition of land for
of Governors of Bangladesh Export Processing Zones Authority (BEPZA) at a meeting last Sunday decided to set up an EPZ in Comilla In stead of Gazipur due to lack of sufficient land for the proposed Gazipur EPZ. BEPZA sources said
The meeting chaired by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina discussed where an EPZ could be established in the shortest possible time to meet the foreign and local entrepreneurs' demand for industrial plots As the BEPZA officials pointed out various difficulties they faced in acquiring land for the pro posed Gazipur EPZ. the meeting ordered BEPZA to keep the project "postponed for some time and set up an EPZ in Comilla airport area immediately, the
sources said.
The decision for establishing an EPZ in Gazipur was taken at a meeting of the BEPZA Board of Governors in July 1996 Later. BEPZA experts conducted a preliminary feasibility study and selected a site at Mauna, about 60 km from the city, for establishing the EPZ.
BEPZA Chairman Moazzem Hossain Khan, however, said Gazipur EPZ project was "not cancelled" but they would prefer setting up an EPZ in,ComilIa as there would not be any problem in getting adequate land there.
He noted that they had been facing difficulties in acquiring 500 acres of land at Mauna in Gazipur.
The money which had been allocated for Gazipur EPZ would now be spent for Comilla EPZ. Initially, the-government had allocated Tk ZO^rore for development of 200acres out of a total of 500 acres of land for preparing industrial plots at Gazipur EPZ.
The main difficulty faced in acquisition of land at Mauna was the dispute ovef fixation of price of the land. The Inhabitants of the area Were not willing to give the land at govern ment-fixed rates Moazzem Hossain said "wt cannot give more money, than ■ government rule allows us”.
The proposed Camilla EPZ will be set up on 450 acres of land, beside Dhaka-Chittagong highway about 60 miles from the capital, BEPZA officials said the site is suitable for the project because it is khas land and there would not be any necessity of eviction of people. The site, now under the Civil Aviation Authority, will be easily available to BEPZA. officials hoped.
The BEPZA Board of Governors also decided to set up a central treatment plant for Indus trial waste at the Dhaka EPZ and to accelerate land acquisition activities for another two EPZs al Mongla and Ishwardi
"We would start development work for proposed Mongla EPZ as soon as the Mongla Port Authority hands over 200 acres of land to us." Moazzem HuaMin said He hoped that the land will be available in two months Besides, the process of acquiring about 309 acres of land for Ishwardi EPZ is going on. he said.