& çâÌæÚUæð´ ·¤è ¥ôÚU Îð¹Ùæ ÁæÚUè ÚU¹ð´ ¥ÍæüÌ ¥ÂÙð ÜÿØ ÂÚU ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´Ð ãæÚU Ù ×æÙð´, €UØô´ç·¤ ·¤æ× ·¤ÚUÙð âð ¥æÂ·¤ô ©gðàØ ·¤è Âýæç# ãôÌè ãñ ¥õÚU ÁèßÙ ·¤æ ¹æÜèÂÙ ÎêÚU ãôÌæ ãñÐ ÖÜð ãè ÁèßÙ ×ð´ ç·¤ÌÙè Öè ·¤çÆÙæ§ü €UØô´ Ù ¥æ°, çÁ™ææâæ ¥õÚU ©ˆâæã ÕÙæ° ÚU¹ð´Ð ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´, ÜÿØ ã×ðàææ ¥æÂ·Ô¤ Âæâ ãôÌð ãñ´ çÁ‹ãð´ ÂæÙð ·Ô¤ çÜ° ÂýØæâ ¥æÂ ·¤Öè Öè àæéM¤ ·¤ÚU â·¤Ìð ãñ´Ð

Road to apparel export excellence

Infrastructure and political calm are crucial to the $50b garment export target, analysts say at Dhaka Apparel Summit

Star Business Report
Bangladesh will need between $74 billion and $100 billion in the next decade to improve infrastructure which, coupled with political stability, is key to attaining $50 billion in annual apparel exports in seven years from now.
Experts, policymakers and entrepreneurs shared a common view yesterday at a discussion on "Infrastructure - the Road to Chittagong & Beyond" at Dhaka Apparel Summit.
Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association organised the three-day summit at Bangabandhu International Conference Centre in Dhaka.
Organisers ran a mobile SMS poll where more than half of the participants expressed that better infrastructure is mostly needed for an efficient business supply chain. Maintaining political stability came in second.
To improve infrastructure in order to raise apparel exports from nearly $25 billion now to $50 billion by 2021, it will be vital to gather required resources and give pace to project implementation, they added. Garment exports will have to grow by 10 percent a year from now to fetch $50 billion, said Zaidi Sattar, chairman of Policy Research Institute (PRI).
"It is feasible but infrastructure will be the binding constraint."
Citing a World Bank study on infrastructure requirements in South Asian states, Zahid Hussain, lead economist of World Bank Bangladesh, said the countries need to improve six key areas of infrastructure - transportation, electricity, water supply and sanitation, solid waste management, telecoms and irrigation.
To improve these areas, Bangladesh will need a minimum of $74 billion to a maximum of $100 billion in ten years. “It means we have to invest 7.4 percent to 10 percent of GDP in the next ten years.”
"Currently, we are spending about 2-3 percent of GDP for infrastructure development; financing and implementation are the constraints."
Hussain said the government should first maintain existing infrastructure, moving away from a tendency of neglect.
"Our tendency is to build, neglect and rehabilitate. That is really a big problem."
Abdul Moyeen Khan, member of national standing committee of BNP, said achieving the $50 billion export target will not be possible. The main challenge will be to manage resources to develop infrastructure, he added.
Khan said BNP has kept the garment industry out of the purview of strikes in the past. “No political party should block the development of the garment industry."
Towfiq-e-Elahi Chowdhury, power,
energy and mineral resources adviser to the prime minister, said: "We will be by your side to make $50 billion plus in apparel exports."
Bangladesh’s electricity generation capacity doubled from 5,000 MW to 11,000 MW in the current government's last tenure, he said.
James F Moriarty, a board member of the Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety and senior adviser for South Asia Bower Group, said there is a push to establish transportation links between China, India via Bangladesh to Southeast Asia.
Bangladesh will serve as a hub once transportation links between China, India and Southeast Asia are established, he said.
SM Fazlul Hoque, former president of BGMEA, said businesses will need political stability to achieve the vision forexports.
Mikio Hataeda, chief representative of Japan International Cooperation Agency, said it is helping Bangladesh to develop various infrastructure, including the elevated expressway in Dhaka, and supporting initiatives for a reliable supply of electricity.
It is also helping Bangladesh with the three pillars identified under the Bay of Bengal Industrial Growth Belt (BIG-B) initiative, which are — developing economic infrastructure, improving investment environment and fostering connectivity.
Japan International Cooperation Agency has also identified a few sites to support establishing special economic zones, he added.
Asiflbrahim, former president of Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry, moderated the session.