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More than ten years after it was first proposed, construction finally set to begin today on the Chinese Economic and Industrial Zone (CEIZ) in Anwara upazila, a project promising $500 million in foreign investment and 100,000 jobs but dogged for years by disputes over developers and financing.

Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury, Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed, Chinese Ambassador Yao Wen and Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority (BEZA) Executive Chairman Ashik Chowdhury are expected to attend the groundbreaking ceremony at the 800-acre project site.

Implemented under a government-to-government framework, the zone ranks among the largest industrial cooperation projects between Dhaka and Beijing.

BEZA expects it to generate around 100,000 direct and indirect jobs and draw roughly $500 million in foreign investment once operational.

BEZA Executive Member (Planning and Development) Maj Gen (retd) Md Nazrul Islam said the project is due for completion by 31 December 2031.

“Although the implementation period is five years, we hope to prepare at least 60% of the industrial plots for factory construction within the first three years,” he said.

A decade-long road to groundbreaking

The scheme was first floated in 2014, when Bangladesh offered land for a dedicated  industrial zone catering to Chinese manufacturers.

An initial memorandum of understanding to establish the zone on roughly 800 acres in Anwara followed later that year.

In September 2015, the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council approved the project with an initial allocation of Tk420.37 crore, to be financed through Chinese loans.

Momentum built in 2016 when Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Bangladesh and the project was formally folded into bilateral G2G cooperation.

Officials at the time expected Chinese factories to be operating within a few years. Instead, disagreements over the developer, financing arrangements and administrative procedures left the project stalled for the best part of a decade.

China Harbour Engineering Company was initially chosen as developer, but the firm and BEZA could not agree terms on development and land leases.

Land acquisition nonetheless proceeded, and by 2022 nearly 800 acres had been secured.

A turning point came on 16 July 2022, when Beijing appointed China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC) as the new developer.

BEZA and CRBC signed a shareholders’ agreement in October 2023, under which BEZA holds a 30% stake, based on the value of a 50-year land lease, while CRBC owns the remaining 70% in exchange for investing $100 million in developing the zone.

The two sides also formed a joint venture, Bangladesh CEIZ Company Limited. Even so, physical work remained largely stalled until 2024.

The project regained pace only after last year’s political transition. During Prime Minister Tarique Rahman’s visit to China on 22-26 June this year, BEZA and CRBC exchanged the developer agreement for the zone.

Chinese Ambassador Yao Wen said afterwards that the long-delayed project had made visible progress, adding that more than 30 Chinese companies had already expressed interest in investing around $500 million there.

Shortly before the Prime Minister’s visit, ECNEC approved a Tk4,189 crore infrastructure package for the zone, covering a 20,000-deadweight-tonne multipurpose jetty and access road, four-lane roads, a 25-million-litre central effluent treatment plant, a power substation, gas and water supply facilities, and nearly 12 kilometres of boundary wall.

Industry hopes and warnings

Bangladesh-China Chamber of Commerce and Industry President Mohammad Khorshed Alam said the zone is expected to draw Chinese investment into garments, pharmaceuticals, electronics assembly, renewable energy, light engineering and agro-processing.

“We expect strong Chinese interest in garment manufacturing, mobile phone assembling, footwear, electronic goods and sports equipment industries,” he said.

Mohammad Yusuf of Chittagong University’s Bangladesh Studies department said the Karnaphuli tunnel, Matarbari Deep Seaport, Bay Terminal and the Anwara zone could together form a new economic corridor, transforming Chattogram into a modern industrial and logistics hub.

But he cautioned that success hinges on timely construction and prompt implementation of the EPC contract, warning that delays to roads, the jetty, the treatment plant, or power, gas and water supplies could deter investors.