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KEPZ investors under review

Sayeda Akter
The government is set to decide on taking back the land at Karnaphuli EPZ (KEPZ) Extension in Chittagong and providing compensation to fourteen foreign investors after reviewing the construction situation in the area.
The Bangladesh Export Processing Zones Authority (Bepza) has formed a committee in this regard and sent a letter to the engineering section of KEPZ for compensation assessment, said a senior official of Bepza asking anonymity.
He said the letter was issued on June 28 with an order to complete assessment within a month.
With this move, the future of SI81.2 million foreign investment and potential job opportunity for at least 24,000 people by 2010 in the area is faced with uncertainty that would further affect new foreign investment in the country, said industry people.
Investors including nine from Taiwan, two from South Korea, and
one each from India, Sri Lanka and China are considering withdrawal of their investment, as Bepza has failed to offer them any quick decision.
Besides, the foreign investors at the Karnaphuli EPZ Extension have demanded compensation worth $100 million from the authorities. They said if the government fails to offer them proper compensation, they will go for legal action in the international court.
"We, all the investors at KEPZ Extension, are suffering great losses due to the government decision of suspending construction works. Simultaneously, it has damaged our reputation to the top global brands, who outsource products from us," said an investor.
"We have long-term agreements with those companies. Now if the deals arc cancelled, we will have to face difficult situation, as we will fail to supply on time the orders we have received," he said.
He also said the government should consider these harassments'
while providing compensation to them.
Earlier, Bepza sent a letter to the KEPZ on March 25 asking it to suspend construction works of Bepza and other industries in the allocated industrial zone at I lalishahar CSD at KEPZ Extension in the port city until further notice.
Investors claimed that around 70 percent of their construction works were complete and they have already deposited around $500,000 to Bepza as security deposit, stamp duties and rents.
The construction works have been remained suspended since March 28.
Bepza allocated 59.28 acres of land for the KEPZ Extension in December 2006, which was an abandoned CSD (Central Storage Depot) of the government's food department, for transforming the area into an EPZ (export processing zone).
Fourteen foreign investors were given allotments and they signed 30 years' lease agreements with Bepza.
sayeda@thedailystar.net