Economists stressed the need to develop the port city of Chittagong to global standard as early as possible, which has enormous economic potentials.
The city accounts for about one-quarter of the gross domestic product, 25% of national revenue and 40% of heavy industrial activities, revealing its importance as an engine that could be a driver for the country’s economic growth, they said.
“The country needs to develop 4-5 cities to global standard for faster economic growth,” said economist Dr Hossain Zillur Rahman at a roundtable yesterday in Dhaka.
The discussion on “Global Port, Global City: Prioritising Chittagong For Accelerating National Growth” was jointly organised by Power and Participation Research Centre (PPRC), a think-tank, and Bonik Barta, a Bangla business daily.
“In this context, priority should be given right now for building Chittagong as an attractive city,” he said.
Dr Hossain Zillur said Bangladesh could learn from Asia’s some successful cities that economic competitiveness would be boosted with development of a city.
He also laid emphasis on improving efficiency of Chittagong port to cope with the economic growth.
“The infrastructure of the port and the city are poorly aligned, and the port’s contribution to the city’s infrastructural development is marginal. If the port becomes global standard, the city has to be global standard.”
“The Chittagong port handles more than 80% of the external trade. The deep seaport is a distant future.
“So, the current Chittagong port has to bear the principal burden of higher growth in the medium term and has ample opportunities for expansion and improvement to global standards.”
Planning Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal said the government was considering Chittagong as a hub while the country would reach its goal of middle income country taking the port city as an important place.
Highlighting development projects taken by the government for furnishing the port city, he said, “The government is implementing 139 projects in Chittagong at a cost of Tk158,000 crore. These will be implemented in next three years.”
Former Bangladesh Bank Governor Salehuddin Ahmed blamed the centralisation of development and decision-making for increasingly turning Dhaka as “Bangladesh,” leaving other parts of the country deprived of development works.
“The whole country can be divided into a number of parts to drive development process. Chittagong will be preeminent in that process,” he said.
Chittagong Stock Exchange Chairman Muhammad Abdul Mazid said: “The Chittagong-based businesses even don’t make attempt to develop the city. Rather, they have shifted their head offices to Dhaka.”
AK Khan & Company Managing Director Salahuddin Kasem Khan said there was a serious lack of coordination among agencies running the city. “But the city governance is important to build a city.”
President of Chittagong Samity MM Nasiruddin said the infrastructure in the city had not improved much since the British rule.
“Projects have been taken, but their implementation is slow. When the Dhaka-Chittagong four-lane road will be open for public, perhaps the utility for the lane will be over.”
Former director general of Asian Development Bank Sultan Hafeez Rahman suggested empowering Chittagong City Corporation so it could have tools and finance to run the city as well as spur development.
Urban specialist of the World Bank Chris Pablo said the key institutions had to be involved to develop a city.
“The plan to develop a city has to be manifested in national policies. Besides, a dialogue has to be held to identify who should do what.”
