Purbagaon EZ gets pre-qualification license

Purbagaon Economic Zone (EZ), a sister concern of the City Group, has received a pre-qualification license from the Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority (Beza).

As a part of Beza's aim of establishing 100 economic zones across the country by 2030, it provided the pre-qualification license Purbagaon EZ at a function at Beza headquarters on Thursday.

Purbagaon EZ, located at Kayet Para union under Rupganj upazila in Narayanganj, will be established on 94 acres of land, on the bank of the River Shitalakshya, adjacent to the Dhaka-Sylhet highway.

The EZ is 25 kilometres away from the capital city of Dhaka and 180 kilometres from the Chattogram seaport by road.

There is a plan to expand the EZ to 150 acres in future.

Beza Executive Chairman Shaikh Yusuf Harun said many investors from home and abroad have expressed interest in investing in economic zones in the country.

He hoped that the Purbagaon EZ will facilitate rapid economic development in the country through increased and diversified industrialisation, employment, production and export.

City Group Chairman Fazlur Rahman said an initial investment of Tk10,000 crore would be made in the establishment of Purbagaon EZ, which would create employment for about 11,000 people.

He hopes that all the surveys will be completed within the next five months and then the final license will be obtained. After getting the licence, the industrial construction work can be started.

So far, 20 private EZs have been given pre-qualification licenses, of which 12 have got final licenses. About $4 billion has already been invested in these private economic zones and about 35,000 jobs have been created.

Bangladesh planned for the establishment of economic zones for large-scale industrialisation a decade ago.