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Create economic corridor to boost output, jobs
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There are eight major trade gateways in the BEC region: Mongla seaport, Payra seaport, Benapole land port, Bhomra land port (four in the southwest); Akhaura land port, Tamabil land port, Bibirbazar land port, Nakugaon land port (four in the northeast).
While Mongla and Payra seaports provide sea route trade linkages with the world (currently contributing about 11 percent of seaborne international trade), land ports in the region act as major trade gateways with India, contributing 36 percent of Indo–Bangladesh trade.
Hence, the corridor region has an inherent advantage for international trade-dependent industries from the perspective of importing raw materials and/or exporting finished products.
Besides, Northeast Bangladesh has an added locational edge with respect to cross-border trade potential with Northeast India, a landlocked territory with a market demand of $38.5 billion.
Leveraging the logistical advantage, agri-commodities and industries from the Northeast Bangladesh region can find a potential consumer market in Northeast India.
Likewise, Northeast Indian states, being endowed with natural resources, can export rubber, limestone and other mineral resources to Northeast Bangladesh, which can act as raw materials for local industries. In addition, Northeast Bangladesh can leverage its proximity with countries like Nepal and Bhutan.
Not just locational advantage, the BEC region is rich in agricultural produce and it has an abundance of natural resources such as gas reserves, limestone, white clay and peat reserves.
“Despite being strategically located and resource-rich, to date, the southwest and northeast regions have not been able to fully utilise their natural advantages due to inadequate transport infrastructure within the hinterland and connectivity with the trade gateways.”
Apart from limited physical infrastructure, inadequate social infrastructure is also a key reason behind the poor economic development. The corridor region lags behind the country in terms of educational infrastructure.
This has created relatively lower employment potential in industrial and service sectors (relatively high wage-paying sectors), which is corroborated by the employment number: 58 percent of the population in the corridor region is employed in agriculture, compared to the national average of 48 percent.
The development of this envisaged corridor may be carried out in two phases.
In the first phase, the southwest portion of the corridor may be developed (Southwest Bangladesh Economic Corridor [SWBEC]); in the second phase, the northeast portion of the corridor (from Dhaka to Sylhet and Mymensingh) may be developed (North-East Bangladesh Economic Corridor [NEBEC]).
To develop the BEC, ADB has identified 56 railway projects to enable efficient rail movement in the region, 114 road projects to increase road density in the region by 38 percent, 33 projects to improve inland water connectivity and 38 projects to address the bottleneck at export and import gateways.
Four partially developed industrial clusters have been identified and 12 manufacturing industries were shortlisted for the whole BEC region.
The industries are food processing, leather and footwear, textiles and ready-made garments (RMGs), jute, nonmetallic mineral manufacturers, shipbuilding, furniture, transport equipment, pharmaceuticals, plastic products, rubber and rubber products, electrical and electronics machinery, and heavy machinery.
Along with the manufacturing sector, the service sector can also be developed. Two major service sector industries, i.e., information technology and tourism have been earmarked.
“If we want to implement the ADB recommended corridor, then a stable political regime is necessary. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is creative, innovative and visionary. Only she can implement these plans, if she gets the chance to run the country again,” Mannan said at the event.
Proper institutional and governance frameworks are extremely important for the economic zones to attract investors, said Sabyasachi Mitra, director of public sector management and governance of ADB.
Edimon Ginting, country director of the ADB; Shaikh Yusuf Harun, executive chairman of Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority; Uzma Chowdhury, director of Pran-RFL Group; Md Mostafizur Rahman, additional secretary of ADB wing chief of Economic Relations Division; Soon Chan Hong, senior country specialist at the ADB; and Avijit Chowdhury, executive member of the BIDA, also spoke at the event.

UAE fines
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laundering system. If they don’t do so within three months, more severe penalties will be imposed.
It urged businesses to follow relevant legislation, maintain the highest levels of compliance, and communicate with relevant authorities if they have any questions or want to request technical assistance, the report said.
Earlier in Singapore, police in an anti-money laundering operation rounded up a group of foreigners who had amassed about S$1 billion worth of assets.
The assets, which included properties, luxury cars, and goods, were either seized, frozen or issued with prohibition of disposal orders.