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Bangladesh to develop economic zones
27 May 2011: The World Bank will provide $120 million (approx Rs 540 crore) to Bangladesh to facilitate investment to set up economic zones for the emerging manufacturing and services sectors.
The credit agreement has been signed with the World Bank for the “Bangladesh Private Sector Development Support Project”. UK's-Department for International Development (UK-DFID) is the other co-financier of the project. The credit from the International Development Association (IDA), the World Bank’s concessional arm, has 40 years to maturity, including a 10-year grace period; and carries a service charge of 0.75 percent.
The government’s new Economic Zone policy builds on results of the Export Processing Zones which began in the 1980s and at present employ nearly 292,000 people. The World Bank Group has supported the Bangladesh Export Processing Zone Authority, both in terms of physical investment to create new zones as well as institutional strengthening.
Economic zones provide supporting infrastructure and streamlined procedures for setting up and operating manufacturing and service industries. Zones have contributed to rapid growth of exports, worth US$2.9 billion last year. Extension of economic zones will accelerate growth to help Bangladesh reduce poverty from 40 percent to 15 percent by 2021.
Source: Bangladeshinfo