Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) directed the planning commission (PC) to approve the Pre Development Project Plan (PDPP), of Establishment of Indian Economic Zones in Mongla and Bheramara in principal, said sources at the PC.
The direction of the PMO said ‘to ensure the foreign assistance regarding the project that will be implemented by Bangladesh Economic Zone Authority (BEZA), approval of the commission is required’. The PC received the direction from the PMO on July 6.
With an aim to boost bilateral trade, during the visit of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Dhaka last month, Bangladesh offered to establish two Special Economic Zones (SEZs) for Indian companies, besides allowing Life Insurance Corporation to start operations in the country. Bangladesh and India signed a number of pacts to spur economic engagement and enhance connectivity, so that its North-East region could be linked to South Asian countries.
As per the memorandum of understanding (MoU) on the economic zone, Bangladesh will offer SEZs to Indian companies in Mongla and Bheramara. India becomes the third country after Japan and China to have shown interest in developing economic zones in Bangladesh, media reports in Dhaka said.
Earlier India sought over 200 acres of land in Mongla and 477 acres at Bheramara to establish the zones. The zones will be developed with funds obtained from the USD 2 billion line of credit from India, the BEZA executive chairman said. Both the sides also renewed a Bilateral Trade Agreement and signed another one, on Coastal Shipping, which will allow direct and regular movements of Indian ships to Bangladeshi ports.
The annual trade between Bangladesh and India is around USD 6.5 billion, out of which India’s export is around USD 6 billion, while Bangladesh exports to India is around USD 0.5 billion.