Dhaka, Jan 26 (.) Amid the downslide in bilateral relations between New Delhi and Dhaka, the Bangladesh interim government has decided to establish a ‘Military Economic Zone’ in Chattogram’s Mirsarai, replacing the initially planned Indian Economic Zone.
Announcing this, Chowdhury Ashik Mahmud Bin Harun, executive chairman of the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (Bida) and the Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority (Beza), said at a press conference today: “The Indian Economic Zone has been excluded from the government-to-government framework, leaving the land vacant.”
Speaking to reporters at a press briefing at the Foreign Service Academy in Dhaka, Ashik said: “The proposed Military Economic Zone will now be developed on around 850 acres at the same site.”
The move effectively ends a bilateral initiative that was first outlined in 2015, when Bangladesh agreed to allocate land in Mirsarai and Mongla for dedicated industrial parks for Indian investors under a government-to-government arrangement, with support from an Indian Line of Credit.
However, the project was stalled repeatedly due to lack of investor interest in India. This led to there being virtually no progress over several years, with only about 1% of the total allocated budget being spent. In October last year, the Mohammed Yunus-led interim government officially terminated the Indian Economic Zone projects at Mirsarai and Mongla.
Today’s announcement of setting up a Military Economic Zone comes days after former premier Sheikh Hasina – sentenced to death in Bangladesh – addressed the media in New Delhi, launching a fierce attack on the Yunus government, much to the anger of Dhaka which was quick to criticise New Delhi, imputing a political angle to today’s move.
Ashik said the decision was taken at the 4th meeting of the Beza Governing Board held today, chaired by Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus, who is also the chairman of the board.
Ashik said the pivot toward defence production reflects both economic opportunity and changing global realities. “We have been discussing defence industrial production for a long time — weapons or equipment for the military industry,” he said.
“There is now clear global demand. Even from a purely economic perspective, defence is an industry where Bangladesh can begin to participate,” he added.
He noted that recent conflicts worldwide have underscored the importance of domestic manufacturing capacity. “In many wars, shortages are not in high-tech systems but in basic items — bullets, spare parts, tank axles. If you don’t have ammunition on the battlefield, you don’t have the option to fight,” he said, adding that Bangladesh is assessing where it could realistically contribute.
According to Ashik, the Armed Forces Division, BEZA, the Chief Adviser’s Office and the Ministry of Defence have been jointly working on the proposal for some time, and have formally approved the inclusion of the defence industrial zone in BEZA’s master plan.
“The land is currently vacant,” he said. “It was earlier earmarked as an Indian economic zone, but that project has now been cancelled. Given the availability of the land, a policy decision has been taken to designate it as a military industrial zone.”
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