A three-day Bangladesh Light Engineering Expo 2026 opens in Dhaka on 2 February, aiming to raise competitiveness and exports in a sector that meets nearly half of domestic demand but accounts for less than 1 per cent of the global market.
The expo, organised by the Bangladesh Engineering Industry Owners Association with support from the Ministry of Commerce and the World Bank–backed Export Competitiveness for Jobs project, will run from 2–4 February at the Shaheed Abu Sayeed International Convention Centre.
BEIOA President Md Abdur Razzaque announced the details at a press conference at the Dhaka Reporters Unity on Saturday, reports Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS).
Commerce Secretary Mahbubur Rahman will inaugurate the event as chief guest, with World Bank senior private sector specialist Hosna Ferdous Sumi and Commerce Ministry additional secretary and EC4J project director Md Abdur Rahim Khan as special guests.
The exhibition will be open daily from 11:00am to 7:00pm, featuring construction and packaging machinery, agricultural equipment, electrical goods, textile and jute machinery parts, automobile components, dies and moulds, organisers said.
About 50,000 small and medium light engineering enterprises operate nationwide, employing more than 300,000 skilled workers and contributing nearly 3 per cent to gross domestic product, Razzaque said.
Local producers meet about half of Bangladesh’s $8.2 billion engineering demand, manufacturing more than 3,800 types of machinery, parts and tools, though reliance on imported machinery and components remains high.
Bangladeshi light engineering exports stand at about $795 million, while the global engineering market is valued at nearly $7 trillion, leaving scope for expansion, he said.
With policy support, technology upgrades and investment, export earnings could reach $12.56 billion by 2030, according to BEIOA.
Two seminars will be held alongside the expo, focusing on post-LDC graduation competitiveness and the role of research and innovation.
Razzaque called for lower duties on raw materials, easier imports, specialised light engineering zones, faster patent and design registration, technology transfer, skills training, and better access to bank finance.
He flagged a duty anomaly, noting finished goods face 1 per cent import duty while raw materials attract up to 57 per cent, urging the government to rationalise the structure.
Senior BEIOA leaders and representatives of the Export Competitiveness for Jobs project attended the briefing.
