Beza likely to revoke approval for S Alam’s economic zone

Infograph: TBS

The Bangladesh Economic Zone Authority (Beza) is set to revoke the approval of the economic zone granted to S Alam Group, which is currently under scrutiny for extensive exploitation in the country's banking and financial sectors, in Chattogram's Banshkhali upazila, according to Beza sources.

In 2023, Beza issued a pre-qualification licence for the Banshkhali S Alam Economic Zone-2, covering 259 acres in Gandamara, Banshkhali.

Beza officials said after granting a pre-qualification licence for a private economic zone, certain conditions, including infrastructure development, are set.

The authorities then inspect the zone to ensure these conditions are met before forwarding it to the Beza Governing Board for final approval. Once the Governing Board grants final approval, construction of the factory can commence, they said.

When asked about the potential cancellation of S Alam's economic zone land approval, Beza Executive Chairman Md Sarwar Bari told TBS, "We have requested a meeting with the chief adviser and will recommend cancelling investment proposals that appear risky. We will also inform him about cases where there has been no progress despite receiving land allocations in economic zones."

He added, "Due to a lack of progress, we have proposed cancelling the allotment of some land."

According to Beza, the land allocated for S Alam's economic zone in Banshkhali upazila is particularly suitable for heavy industrialisation due to its proximity to the sea.

Last year, S Alam Group announced plans to establish a steel project and a combined cycle LNG and hydrogen power plant within the economic zone.

However, since the ouster of the Awami League government on 5 August, reports have emerged detailing S Alam's alleged plundering of the country's banking and financial sectors and laundering of thousands of crores of taka.

The interim government, led by Professor Muhammad Yunus, has initiated actions to investigate these reports.

In this context, Beza sources indicate that the organisation believes the S Alam Group may not be able to complete the construction of the economic zone.

Meanwhile, Beza has proposed cancelling the contract for the SBG Economic Zone, a consortium of three industrial groups, which was allotted 550 acres of land in the Mirsarai Economic Zone in Chattogram in 2017.

Beza sources stated that they intend to cancel the agreement with SBG because the consortium, comprising Sikder Group, Bashundhara Group, and GasMin Ltd, has failed to develop the project as per their contract.

According to Beza sources, SBG Economic Zone Ltd owes around Tk85 crore to Beza, including interest for land leases. Despite the land allotment, the developer has not taken an active role in developing the zone, leading to the decision to cancel the agreement.

Beza is an organisation that previously operated under the Prime Minister's Office and is now under the Chief Adviser's Office.

According to Beza sources, there are currently 97 approved economic zones in the country, 68 of them government-owned and the remaining 29 private. Of these, 11 are operational, with 3 being government-owned and 8 private.

There are also 29 new economic zones under development, split between 15 government and 14 private zones.