Integration of northeast Bangladesh with southwest will boost output of the corridor: ADB

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) said the integration of the northeastern districts with the southwest region of the country is ensured the total output of this corridor will increase to 1.4 times in 2030 and 2.6 times in 2050.

An additional 64 lakh jobs will be created in the region in 2030 and 4.07 crore in 2050 through the development of the economic corridor of the two regions, said the Bangladesh Economic Corridor Development Highlight report released at a conference centre in the capital on Wednesday (23 August). 

Soon Chan Hong, senior country specialist, ADB Bangladesh office, presented the keynote during the event. 

"The total production value in the region is currently $32 billion. If the corridor is developed as expected, the region's gross domestic product will reach $286 billion by 2050. If the development of the corridor is not ensured, the cost of production will be slightly more than $100 billion," he said.

The report also said the corridor currently has 8.9 million jobs. This number can be increased to 2.34 crore by 2030 and 7.18 crore by 2050 through corridor development.

Speaking as the chief guest on the occasion, Planning Minister MA Mannan said there has been considerable improvement in the road communication system throughout the country.

"The communication system of the northeast region along with the southwest region of the country is also improving," he said. 

However, for the development of the corridor, the minister suggested avoiding the capital Dhaka and developing alternative connections.