Business in Bangladesh Economic Corridors (BECs) might earn $129 billion by 2035 and $286 billion by 2050 with effective planning and intervention from the public and private sectors, revealed a recent study by the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
This is anticipated to boost Bangladesh's economy by an additional $53 billion (2035) and $178 billion (2050) compared to the Business As Usual (BAU) forecast.
Along with this, development of BEC is expected to generate employment of 71.8 million.
This data was released on Wednesday by the ADB in a publication launching program titled “Bangladesh Economic Corridor Development Highlights”.
Soon Chang Hong, Senior country specialist, ADB presented the keynote presentation.
His presentation informed that the BEC aimed to enable competitive industries linking Global Value Chains (GVCs), create jobs and upgrade infrastructure aligning with future requirements of urban and social agglomerations.
Due to intervention, the total combined output in the entire economic corridor region is expected to increase from $32 billion in 2020 to $286 billion by 2050 in the BIS.
It has been estimated that the whole corridor is expected to generate additional employment of 2.3 million jobs by 2025 and gradually increase to 40.7 million jobs by 2050.
As such, the total employment generated in the corridor region is expected to be 15.7 million in 2025 and 71.8 million in 2050 in the BIS, the ADB study also said.
Northeast and Southwest Bangladesh were now the nation's two most underdeveloped regions, according to ADB.
As a result, the Bangladesh Economic Corridor (BEC), which runs from the Southwest Region (Khulna Division) to the Northeast Region (Sylhet), has been planned for consistent, comprehensive, and sustainable growth throughout all of Bangladesh.
Around 34% of the nation's population is spread over 14 districts that make up the whole economic corridor.
One of the six hotspots includes the majority of its northeastern districts.
Before that, Edimon Ginting, country director for ADB, delivered the welcome remarks.
He said that the economic challenge is currently a major problem amid the global recession, resource diversity is essential.
Bangladesh's development won't take place if it is solely focused on Dhaka and Chittagong, it was rather needed somewhere else.
The country's northern and southern areas continue to lag in terms of development. Economic corridors have the potential to emerge as new hubs of development, boosting local commerce and productivity. Additionally, regional trade with surrounding nations will increase by double, said the ADB country director.
He also added that bilateral trade between Bangladesh and India also lagged behind.
The chief guest at the event, Planning Minister MA Mannan said that bypass roads should be built around Dhaka to take advantage of the economic corridor by increasing connectivity with the northeast and southwest regions of the country.
ADB's assistance was needed in this regard, he also said.
According to the minister, the country's illegal commerce will decline if liberalization is implemented alongside a business facilitation policy to enhance trade.
To stimulate the economy, political stability is necessary, he added.
Among others, Shaikh Yusuf Harun, executive chairman of Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority (Beza); Mostafizur Rahman, additional secretary, ADB wing chief, Economic Relations Division (ERD); Sabyasachi Mitra, director, public sector management and governance, ADB; director of PRAN-RFL Group Uzma Chowdhury; Masrur Reaz, chairman, Policy Exchange Bangladesh and Avijit Chowdhury, executive member of the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (Bida), also spoke at the event.