BEC likely to generate addl 2.3m jobs by 2025
Staff Reporter :
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) estimated that the Bangladesh Economic Corridor (BEC) has the potential to generate additional employment of 2.3 million jobs by 2025 and then gradually increase to 40.7 million jobs by 2050 in the corridor region.
The combined output in the entire economic corridor region is expected to increase from $32 billion in 2020 to $286 billion by 2050 in the business-induced scenario (BIS), said the largest regional development bank in the Indo-Pacific region.
ADB highlighted these facts in a report entitled ‘Bangladesh Economic Corridor Development Highlights’ which launched at the Bangabandhu International Conference Center (BICC) in the capital yesterday.
Planning Minister MA Mannan spoke at the function as the chief guest while Executive Chairman of the Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority (BEZA) spoke as the special guest.
The economic corridor will foster competitive industry linkage with global value chains (GVCs), create jobs, and upgrade infrastructure aligning with future requirements of urban and social agglomerations, the report highlighted.
The BEC has been conceptualised running from the southwest region (Khulna division) to the northeast region (Sylhet and Mymensingh divisions) via Dhaka.
Key terminals of the economic corridor region are Dhaka, Mymensingh, Sylhet, Jessore, and Khulna and those are connected by four major highways such as Dhaka-Mymensingh , Dhaka-Sylhet , Dhaka-Jashore and Dhaka-Khulna.
The entire economic corridor encompasses 14 districts, covering 34 per cent of the total population of the country, the report said.
Due to the intervention, , the total employment generated in the corridor region is expected to be 15.7 million in 2025 and 71.8 million in 2050 in the BIS (Business-induced Scenario).
This is about 2.3 times the employment that is expected to be generated in the corridor region by 2050 compared to the BAU (Business as usual) scenario.
Speaking on the occasion as the chief guest, Planning Minister MA Mannan said that there are corridors in every country
while there is a need to create adequate bypasses in Dhaka to have maximum outputs and economic benefits towards developing the economic corridors.
BEZA executive chairman Shaikh Yusuf Harun said that the economic corridor would play a pivotal role in catalyzing the economic zones being developed across the country by BEZA.
In his address, ADB country director Edimon Ginting said that the Northeast and the Southwest region of Bangladesh are lagging in terms of development as this corridor will make them the new center of growth.
He said that the economic corridor will boost regional cooperation.
Noting that India is a very dynamic neighbor to Bangladesh, Ginting said the regional trade between India and Bangladesh is still small compared to the ASEAN countries.
But, the development of this corridor could enhance the trade potentials, he added.
