Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Shilpa Nagar
Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Shilpa Nagar (BSMSN) [Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Industrial City] is located at a distance of 10 km from Mirsarai on the Dhaka-Chittagong Highway and 60 km from the port city, the commercial capital, Chittagong. It is being constructed on the sea shore in Ichakhali, Charsharat, Char Mosharraf and Sadhur Char areas. Bangabandhu Shilpa Nagar with multi-dimensional features is a great junction of domestic and foreign investment, industrialization and economy at the entrance of the south-eastern part of the country. Being one of the largest economic and industrial zones in South Asia, Bangabandhu Shilpa Nagar will be a state-of-the-art industrial city that will build the future of Bangladesh.
Bangabandhu Shilpa Nagar is one of the priority projects of the government for industrialization and job creation. Among the initiatives taken by the government to establish 100 economic zones in the country, Bangabandhu Shilpa Nagar has got the highest priority. Initially, Mirsarai was started as an economic zone, but with the addition of Sitakunda and Sonagazi economic zones in Feni, the three zones have been renamed as Bangabandhu Shilpa Nagar. The industrial city established at a place about ten kilometers west of Baratakia on the Dhaka-Chittagong highway with the seaport, gas, electricity and all kinds of facilities, have created a unique opportunity to connect this large industrial city with highways, rivers, seas and railways. If completed, at least 5 lakh people will be employed in the initial stage. Although the initial target is 5 lakh jobs, the economic zone when could be expanded to 30,000 acres, it will create employment for at least 1.5 million people. As a result, people from other districts of the country will also get employment and livelihood opportunities in this zone. One of the neglected chars has become an industrial area. The locals are also thinking of housing for such a large number of workers and are building various types of houses. As it is a coastal area, dams and adequate sluice gates have been constructed so that sea water no longer enters here.
Initiatives have been taken to modernize and expand the Baratakia railway station as the entrance to the industrial city is a big pillow with a four-lane road about ten kilometers long from Baratakia on the Dhaka-Chittagong highway. On this station there will be passenger facilities as well as cargo transportation and storage yards. The industrial city will facilitate both import and export easier. A container port will be constructed using the facilities of the Bay of Bengal coast. There will be a seaport for berthing ships with a capacity of 40,000 tons. A medium-sized port will be built in the area between Mirsarai and Sitakunda to serve the industrial area. There are also plans to build a small airport. Suburbs, world class tourist centers will be developed from an industrial city to port city. The Shilpanagar will be connected with the Karnafuli Bangabandhu Tunnel through the Super Dyke Cum Marine Driveway to Cox's Bazar. Apart from that, the lifeline of the country's communication system is the Dhaka-Chittagong highway and railway near the industrial city. It will also meet on the Noakhali-Chittagong bypass highway. In future, high speed railway line will be constructed next to it. All in all, this industrial city will be taking shape as the modern economic hub of the country. At the same time, Bangabandhu Shilpanagar will be the first ‘green’ or eco-industrial city in the country in terms of nature, energy system, and waste management.
It will be easy to get one stop service facility in Bangabandhu Shilpanagar . The power plant will be an infrastructure facility for investors in setting up industries. Social infrastructure such as gas and water connections, central waste management, water treatment plants, housing, hospitals, marine drives, tourism parks, schools, universities, administrative buildings and residential areas will be established within the Shilpanagar . Under the development project, 19.5 km of sea embankment, 230 KVA grid station, 18 culverts, 10 km of two-lane road and 18 km of gas pipeline have been constructed for the development of communication system.
Among the companies already invested in the industrial city are Nippon Steel and Sajit Corporation of Japan, Asian Paints of India, Berger Paints of the United Kingdom, China Jindun Group and top industrial groups of Bangladesh. An EPZ will be set up on 1150 acres of land in this zone under Bangladesh Export Processing Zones Authority (BEPZA). The total land area of Chittagong EPZ is 453 acres. Land in Mirsarai has been found to be around three times of that. The total land area of eight EPZs across the country is 2400 acres. And only in Mirsarai 1150 acres have been found. It will be the largest industrial zone under BEPZA.
Entrepreneurs in Bangabandhu Industrial City are engaged in single or joint venture garment and knitwear, steel and iron industry, power and energy sector, chemical products, electrical and electronics equipment, pharmaceuticals, textiles, container manufacturing, edible oil, food processing, paints, motor vehicles or automobiles, IT, various service sectors and setting up industries, mills.
The location of Bangabandhu Shilpanagar next to the Dhaka-Chittagong Highway and being a maritime economic zone is inspiring Bangladesh to dream on a large scale. With the growing economic potential and industrialization, the shift of rural people to urban areas has now become the biggest challenge in the country. As a result, population pressure is increasing in urban areas. At present there are 46,400 people living per square kilometer. As a result, population pressure is increasing in urban areas. As the city's population grows, Bangladesh may face challenges in meeting the growing demand for employment and other public services, as well as housing, transportation, energy and other infrastructure. A state-of-the-art industrial city can be the right solution to tackle the problems of urbanization, which will accelerate the growth of the economy and lead to development. It will meet the needs of present and future generations by combining economic, social and environmental aspects using other means of quality of life development.
The state-of-the-art industrial cities will be monitored using the Internet of Things (IoT) platform to monitor the city's infrastructure, such as traffic, parking, water and even air pollution. Bangabandhu Shilpanagar may be extended to Companyganj Upazila of Noakhali and Sandwip upazila of Chittagong district. This industrial city will be the third largest and the first planned sophisticated city in Bangladesh. [Muhammad Abdul Mazid]
