Jica to assist Beza to bring in fresh investment

The Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica) will help the Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority (BEZA) to bring in foreign and local investment.

The two organisations launched a new project to this end on Tuesday, whereby they will work on making the investment process easier and set up one stop service (OSS) centres at the regional level.

The project for capacity building of Beza on EZ management and investment promotion was launched with a ceremony in Beza's conference room on the day. The project will be active till 2027.

Speaking on the occasion, Beza executive chairman Sheikh Yusuf Harun said mutual cooperation between Beza and Jica will help realise the goals of the project.

He said one of the major elements to increasing investment in economic zones (EZ) is service delivery capacity and promotion activities, which will be achieved through this project.

He added, "We will work to attract foreign direct investment and hope services will be available in all economic zones, including the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Shilpa Nagar (BSMSN).

Beza, in collaboration with Jica, previously launched a project in April 2017 for promoting investment and enhancing industrial competitiveness in Bangladesh. The project aimed to expedite the process of providing one stop service to investors with the technical assistance of Jica. The One Stop Service Act 2018 was promulgated in this regard.

Currently, Beza is providing 125 services– including 47 online services– to local and foreign investors across one stop service centres.

The primary goal of the new project is to enhance Beza's capacity in managing the economic zones and driving economic development by bringing in foreign investment.

The project also includes undertaking capacity building activities related to economic management and enhancing investment development activities.

Speaking as chief guest on the occasion, Japanese Ambassador to Bangladesh, Naoki Ito, said the Japanese government is proud to be a partner in the progress of Bangladesh's prosperity.

He said, "After overcoming the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic and increasing the quality of services to investors, Bangladesh is moving positively towards a 7.5% GDP growth."

"Bangladesh is now an attractive place to invest," added the Japanese envoy.

In a presentation, Yuji Ando, country representative of the Japan External Trade Organization (Jetro), said 68% of Japanese companies are interested in expanding their business in Bangladesh.

Beza is working towards establishing 100 economic zones across the country by 2030.