Greater yearly investment needed for achieving dev goals: ICCB
“Bangladesh is among the top 12 developing countries, who achieved 6-plus per cent growth in 2016.”
UNB
Bangladesh requires a substantial increase in yearly investment from 29.0 per cent of GDP in FY2015 to 34.4 per cent of GDP by FY 2020, said the International Chamber of Commerce-Bangladesh (ICCB) yesterday.
The ICCB said this investment will be required to achieve Bangladeshs goal of middle-income country status by 2021 and to accelerate inclusive growth as well as reduce poverty and income inequality, reports UNB.
For its strategic location, Bangladesh has huge potential to attract more foreign direct investment (FDI) as the central point of eastern part of South Asia, being a connector between South and East Asia, says the chamber body.
More than $11 billion in external resources will be needed for public sector investment, it observes.
The regions three major economiesChina, Japan and India proposed making huge investment, mainly in infrastructure development including energy, according to the ICCB.
With the timely implementation of various projects, Bangladesh will definitely be able to attract more FDIs in the very near future. To attract FDIs, the government agencies have to be more vibrant and proactive, the ICCB says.
The recent merger of Board of Investment and Privatization Commission into one bodyBangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA)--hopefully will be able to provide long-sought one stop service in real sense to attract FDI, the chamber body notes.
During the last seven years, some $8 billion was invested in the power sector in public-private partnerships and another $13 billion is in the pipeline, the ICCB mentions in its new bulletin editorial.
The investment has resulted in access to electricity for nearly 80 per cent of the population. But still there are unlimited opportunities of investment in the power sector, as we will need to generate some 24,000 MW power by 2021, it said.
Bangladesh economy, according to the ICCB, is moving on a stable path, despite external and internal challenges.
The country is among the top 12 developing countries, who achieved 6-plus per cent growth in 2016.
According to experts by any standards, Bangladesh economy is doing well and expected to achieve above 7 per cent GDP this fiscal, according to the editorial of the current News Bulletin ((July-September 2016 issue).
The government has given top priority to ten fast-track mega projects in the current FY budget and given Tk 187.27 billion fund allocations for eight out of total 10 fast-track mega-projects.
The mega projects are the Padma bridge, Padma bridge rail connection, Metro rail, Sonadia Deep Sea Port, Rooppur nuclear power plant, Payra sea port, Rampal Thermal power plant, Matarbari power plant, LNG terminal, and Dohazari-Coxs Bazar-Gundum rail line.
Experts welcomed the government initiative and said it would speed up implementation of the priority projects.
During three months of the current FY many of the fast-track projects have attracted foreign investment. The Asian Development Bank announced $1.5 billion fund to build a key train line from Dohazari in Chittagong to Coxs Bazar, in its largest investment in railways in the continent.
The ADB is funding this new railroad, which is part of the Trans-Asia Railway network, to improve Bangladeshs access to Myanmar and beyond. China Rail Group Limited has signed contract for Padma rail link, which is Tk 349.88 billion.
DP Rail a British company has proposed to invest $7.5 billion in the Dhaka-Payra seaport rail link project.
The rail link between Dhaka and Payra is crucial, as the government plans to build it as the main seaport of the country by 2022.
Payra sits on the Bay of Bengal and has all the potential to become an international seaport, but its road and rail links with Dhaka and other parts of the country are poor at the moment.
