(Dhaka,7 December 2014) Dhaka Apparel Summit, 1st of its kind in Bangladesh, is being held at the Bangabandhu International Conference Center on 7-9 December 2014. The summit was organized by Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) in collaboration with Brand Forum Bangladesh.

Press Release: Session-2
The second session of the Dhaka Apparel Summit titled “Infrastructure - The Road to Chittagong & Beyond” was held at Bangabandhu International Conference Center (BICC) in Dhaka from 4.00 PM-5.30 PM on 7 December.

This session focused on the infrastructure and supply chain issues for the industry to achieve the Vision 2021 being set for Bangladesh and the way to resolve them. It included the importance of the development of physical infrastructure, power, gas, energy etc. and how important they are to secure the vision of reaching 50 billion dollar by 2021. Other issues, including the govt. policy, and importance of public investment in fostering private investment were also discussed. Importance of establishment of a deep Sea Port, Dhaka Chittagong 4 lane highway, new industrial RMG park etc were highlighted in the session.

Opinions:

Dr. Zaidi Sattar, Chairman, Policy Research Institute of Bangladesh (PRI), said that energy, transport and port are very important to maintain the export growth.

Dr. Zahid Hussain, lead economist, World Bank, said that financing is the main constraint to developing infrastructure.
Ambassador James F. Moriarty, Board Member, Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety (AFBWS) & Senior Advisor for South Asia, Bower Group, said that to achieve the vision the industry should ensure safe workplace and workers’ rights. It is observed that significant progress has been made in these areas.

Dr. Abdul Moyeen Khan, Member, National Standing Committee, BNP, said that it is possible to achieve the export target. To achieve the target is not the challenge, the challenge is resources. The main factor behind infrastructure is resources.
Dr. Towfiq-e-Elahi Chowdhury, Adviser to the Prime Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Affairs, said that it is possible to achieve the target of $50 billion by 2021. We have also the target to become a middle-income country by 2021. To provide electricity to everyone, we need to double the power generation. We are thinking to import gas from Myanmar to meet the demand of garment factories.

Recommendations:

Dr. Zahid Hussain, lead economist, World Bank, said that we need minimum74 billion and maximum 100 billion dollar for the development of infrastructure.
Dr. Abdul Moyeen Khan, Member, National Standing Committee, BNP, said that we need to reconstruct social infrastructure. That’s why we need to spread the factories in the countryside.
Mikio Hataeda, Chief Representative, Bangladesh Office of Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), said that Bangladesh should take the advantage its geographical position. JICA has identified a few sites and conducted a feasibility study conducted to support eastablishing special economic zones.
S. M. Fazlul Haque, Former President, BGMEA, said that we need political stability to achieve the vision of $50 billion by 2021.

Asif Ibrahim, Chairman, Business Initiative Leading Development (BUILD) & Vice Chairman, Newage Group of Industries, moderated the session.

Dr. Towfiq-e-Elahi Chowdhury, Adviser to the Prime Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Affairs, Dr. Abdul Moyeen Khan, Member, National Standing Committee, BNP, Ambassador James F. Moriarty, Board Member, Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety (AFBWS) & Senior Advisor for South Asia, Bower Group, S. M. Fazlul Haque, Former President, BGMEA, Dr. Zaidi Sattar, Chairman, Policy Research Institute of Bangladesh (PRI), Mikio Hataeda, Chief Representative, Bangladesh Office of Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA),, and Dr. Zahid Hussain, lead economist, World Bank, took part in the session as panel speakers.