Despite having a strong emerging regulatory framework and a relatively mature market, public-private partnership (PPP) projects in Bangladesh have attracted far lower investments than requirements owing to implementation challenges, lack of long-term financing, and dated laws.
When Bangladesh embarked on a journey to set up 100 economic zones across the country in 2015, the government’s aim was to attract both foreign and local investments as it looks to accelerate industrialisation, create one crore jobs and export $40 billion worth of goods and services from the enclaves in the next 15 years.
Firms, both local and foreign, have put on hold their investments in Bangladesh owing to the surge in the dollar price, the energy crisis, the escalated cost of production, and the deep uncertainty caused by the Russia-Ukraine war.
Bangladesh for its common exports to the major destination countries would face 8.6% to 17% tariffs four years later as soon as it graduates from the LDC status, the experts mentioned, adding that halving its highest-among-peers logistics costs across industries, however, might help to retain the country’s export competitiveness