Business Desk :
The government and the World Bank are jointly undertaking the modernization task, said to cost Tk2,500 crore
Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) president Faruque Hassan said that he will soon meet with the World Bank country director, to expedite the development work of all the country’s land ports.
The government and the World Bank are jointly undertaking the modernization task, said to cost Tk2,500 crore.
Speaking to this reporter, Hassan said that he had urged the Bangladesh Land Port Authority (BLPA) to enhance capacity and efficiency of all ports in the country to meet the future demands of expanding trade and commerce.
The BGMEA president had called on the BLPA chairman at the latter’s office on Thursday.
Faruque Hassan also said that Bangladesh’s economy has been expanding exponentially, alongside the country’s import-export, and investments were also growing, while modern facilities will speed up and boost the country’s trade.
He further said that expansion of infrastructure along with improved services at the land ports were essential to facilitate more favorable trade between Bangladesh and India, and other neighboring countries.
The BGMEA president also requested the BLPA to simplify export-import related services and procedures at the ports for expediting trade activities.
Increase in the prices of yarn, chemicals and other raw materials in the global supply chain has pushed up production costs.
In this context, more efficient port facilities are required to reduce lead time and check additional costs in order to remain competitive in the global market, he added.
Bangladesh imports a good amount of yarn and fabrics from India through land ports that need to be improved to cope with increasing trade, said the BGMEA President.
The government has set an export target of $51 billion projecting a 12.37% year-on-year growth for the fiscal year 2021-22.
Of the target, $43.50 billion will come from goods shipment and $7.5 billion from services with a growth of 12.23% and 13.15% respectively.
The country fetched a total of $45.39 billion from export earnings — goods and services — in the just concluded fiscal year.
