When people discuss the Bangladesh Export Processing Zones Authority (BEPZA), they often point to exports, investment and employment figures. I remember something different – construction sites in Chattogram, coordination meetings, land negotiations and long nights resolving utility, contractor and infrastructure bottlenecks so investors could begin production on schedule.
During President Ziaur Rahman’s visit to Japan in April 1978, discussions with Japanese leaders and World Bank President Robert McNamara laid the foundation for an export-oriented industrial authority. For me, BEPZA has never been merely an administrative authority. It is an execution institution – one that turns policy decisions into factories, infrastructure and exports. Those discussions led to the BEPZA Act of 1980, creating a framework to attract export investment, generate jobs, earn foreign exchange and facilitate technology transfer. The vision was ambitious. Turning it into reality was the challenge.
The first test was Chattogram Export Processing Zone (CEPZ), developed across 453 acres. Bangladesh had little experience in building industrial infrastructure to global standards. Every metre of land had to be acquired, levelled, serviced and connected to roads, power, water, gas and telecommunications before investors could begin. The credibility of the initiative depended on whether the first investors found an industrial estate that worked from day one.
The success of Chattogram EPZ created confidence for expansion. Dhaka EPZ followed, then Cumilla, Mongla, Ishwardi, Uttara, Adamjee and Karnaphuli EPZ. Each presented engineering, administrative and political challenges requiring close coordination among government agencies, utility providers and contractors. A delay in one component could disrupt the entire development schedule, making coordination as important as engineering. Together, these zones became more than industrial estates. They created Bangladesh’s first integrated export manufacturing platform, providing investors with predictable infrastructure, streamlined services and an environment for export-oriented production.
Today, BEPZA operates eight EPZs across roughly 2,400 acres. It has facilitated 566 industrial enterprises, generated employment for more than 548,550 people and supported cumulative exports worth $123.18 billion. But the numbers tell only part of the story.
Every factory job supports multiple family members. Around each EPZ, local economies have grown through transport services, housing, restaurants, retail shops and other businesses. Industrialisation extends beyond factory gates, creating opportunities that statistics alone cannot capture, with 548,550 workers receiving about Tk131.65 billion a year in salaries.
BEPZA has also shown that well-managed industrial infrastructure can generate strong public returns. Against an initial government loan of Tk589.86 crore, the organisation has repaid Tk3,148.35 crore while making significant tax and non-tax contributions to the national exchequer. Industrial infrastructure, therefore, can become a financially sustainable public investment rather than a permanent fiscal burden.
The site was largely low-lying marshland. Transforming it into an eco-friendly, modern and global-standard industrial zone required extensive study to prepare the master plan, followed by enormous land reclamation through dredging and construction of roads, drainage systems, water and gas networks, power infrastructure, pipelines, a central effluent treatment plant and standard multi-story factory buildings. The work required careful sequencing because every component depended on another. The results have been encouraging. Of the project’s 539 industrial plots, 371 have already been allotted. Among the 63 approved enterprises, 58 are foreign-owned, reflecting continued international confidence in Bangladesh as a manufacturing destination.
Building on this momentum, BEPZA has initiated two more EPZs in Jessore and Patuakhali, extending industrial development into new regions. This expansion reflects a broader shift in Bangladesh’s industrial strategy. The goal is not only to increase manufacturing capacity but also to decentralise industrialisation, allowing investment and employment to spread beyond traditional clusters.
Well-planned industrial zones can stimulate regional economies, reduce pressure on major cities and create opportunities closer to where people live. The next phase should be even more ambitious. The plan might include locations such as Dinajpur, Cumilla, Sirajganj and Hobiganj, aiming to create a nationwide manufacturing network rather than concentrating industries in a few districts. Each location has its own potentialities. The targets might be ambitious: around 2.8 million new jobs, $36 billion in private investment and roughly $600 billion in cumulative exports over time. These figures represent a strategic vision to expand Bangladesh’s industrial base and strengthen its position in global manufacturing value chains.
Achieving these goals, however, will require more than engineering expertise. Land acquisition remains a major challenge. Coordination among government agencies often takes longer than construction itself. Funding cycles do not always match project timelines, while delays in utilities can postpone investor operations. The next phase will require technical capability, governance alignment, policy continuity and efficient inter-agency coordination. Fortunately, BEPZA enters this phase with a major institutional advantage.
Over four decades, it has built practical experience in developing industrial infrastructure, facilitating investment, coordinating public agencies and supporting exporters. That institutional memory has enabled the authority to overcome constraints that once appeared impossible. Competition for manufacturing investment is intensifying globally. Investors increasingly evaluate infrastructure quality, logistics, regulatory predictability, environmental compliance and aftercare services alongside labour costs.
Countries that can consistently deliver these factors will attract the next generation of export industries. Bangladesh has an opportunity to strengthen its position by building on a model that has already proven effective.
Its first phase established credibility. Its second expanded scale. The next should deepen industrialisation, diversify manufacturing and extend opportunities to regions that have yet to benefit fully from export-led growth. Every EPZ operating today once seemed ambitious. Each was built by solving problems one after another until investors arrived and factories began production.
Today, it is a bright example of how industrialisation through BEPZA can change the economy of the Monga area of Nilphamari. That experience has given me and Bangladesh confidence that the country can go a long way in development through BEPZA and industrialisation. If the country wants to create millions of productive jobs, reduce poverty, attract more foreign investment and sustain export growth, the answer is not to abandon a proven model. It is to replicate and scale it up.
The next chapter of Bangladesh’s industrialisation should begin the same way the first one did – by building more zones that facilitate investment, attract investors and turn industrial ambition into exports.
The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author
The writer is the Former Chief Engineer and General Manager, BEPZA
