Defence Industrial Zone to Be Established in Mirsharai

The interim government has taken up plans to establish a Free Trade Zone (FTZ) in Anwara, Chattogram, and a Defence Industrial Zone at the previously designated Indian Economic Zone in Mirsharai. The initiatives have received policy-level approval at a meeting of the governing board of the Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority (BEZA), chaired by Chief Adviser of the interim government and Governing Board Chairman Professor Muhammad Yunus.

Following the approval, the proposals will now be forwarded to the Cabinet for final endorsement, said BEZA Executive Chairman Chowdhury Ashik Mahmud bin Harun.

He disclosed the developments at a briefing held on Monday, January 26, at the Foreign Service Academy in Dhaka, where Chief Adviser’s Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam was also present.

According to BEZA officials, the governing board meeting decided to incorporate approximately 850 acres of land in Mirsharai into the master plan as a Defence Industrial Zone. The land had earlier been earmarked for a foreign economic zone, but following the cancellation of that project, a decision was taken to repurpose it.

Explaining the FTZ concept, Ashik Chowdhury said Bangladesh currently does not have a formal Free Trade Zone framework. “By Free Trade Zone, we mean an almost separate territory where there will be no customs obligations. Re-export, storage and manufacturing activities will be allowed,” he said.

He illustrated the concept by referring to cotton imports from the United States. “One major reason American cotton is not widely used in Bangladesh is the time-to-market issue. If US cotton could be stored in a designated FTZ location in Bangladesh—treated as if it were not technically part of the country—it could be used locally when needed or re-exported to countries like Vietnam. This would significantly reduce lead time,” he explained.

He said BEZA has received policy-level backing to move forward with establishing such an FTZ, which will be placed before the Cabinet for approval. “We are hopeful of Cabinet approval, as many of the same stakeholders are involved,” he added.

Initially, Anwara in Chattogram has been identified as the FTZ location, with plans to develop the zone over around 650 acres of land. Ashik Chowdhury noted that implementing the FTZ would require amendments to several laws, policies and regulations—steps that would be taken gradually by the next government. “We hope to reach at least an initial operational stage by the end of this year,” he said.

On the Defence Industrial Zone, Ashik Chowdhury said discussions on defence industrial production had been ongoing for quite some time. “From a purely economic perspective, global demand for defence products is growing, and Bangladesh can begin participating as a production country,” he said.

He also highlighted the strategic importance of having captive defence production capacity amid global supply chain disruptions. “Recent conflicts have shown that shortages are not necessarily in high-tech items like sixth-generation fighters, but in basic supplies such as bullets or tank axles. We are exploring whether Bangladesh can play a role in producing such critical components,” he said.

The proposal has been jointly worked on by the Armed Forces Division, BEZA, the Chief Adviser’s Office, and the Ministry of Defence, he added.

As part of the decision, the 850-acre Mirsharai site has now been formally earmarked for defence industrial use and will be included in BEZA’s master plan. The land, previously identified as the Indian Economic Zone until June last year, became available after the project’s cancellation and is now being repurposed as a Defence Industrial Park.

DBTech/BTN/EK/OR