Private sector key to $1t economy goal: Khosru

Finance and Planning Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury said on Sunday that the government considers the private sector the key catalyst for achieving a trillion-dollar economy by 2034.

“We have a lot of faith in the private sector. The economy is actually driven by this sector. The government’s job is to facilitate and act as an enabler,” Khosru said while speaking as chief guest at the groundbreaking ceremony of the Laldia Container Terminal (LCT) at Laldiar Char in the city’s Patenga area.

APM Terminals, a subsidiary of Danish shipping group Maersk, will develop the terminal under a Design, Build, Finance, Operate and Transfer (DBFOT) model, with an investment exceeding $550 million. The LCT is described as the country’s first greenfield port facility developed entirely with direct foreign investment.

Shipping Minister Sheikh Rabiul Alam attended as special guest. Other speakers included Danish Ambassador to Bangladesh Christian Brix Møller, Shipping Secretary Zakaria, and Chattogram Port Authority Chairman Rear Admiral Md Moniruzzaman, along with officials from APM Terminals.

Khosru said the terminal, alongside other port facilities, a free trade zone and additional export processing zones planned for Chattogram, would support the government’s economic targets.

“This elected government has a very ambitious economic programme that envisages a trillion-dollar economy by 2034,” he said, adding, “Our current economy is worth $500 billion. We have to be ambitious because of the economic conditions we have experienced over the years. It is not a slogan or political statement. It is indeed a commitment.” He said no government could build a trillion-dollar economy without private sector partnership, adding: “The BNP was founded on the principle of private sector-led growth.”

Khosru said the government was in discussions on further port facilities and logistics projects along the Bay of Bengal coastline, and was working with the Asian Development Bank on $80 billion in projects, alongside engagement with global fund managers and plans for a floating dollar bond abroad.

Shipping Minister Rabiul Alam said the terminal would have capacity to handle 800,000 TEUs of containers annually.  “It reflects the trust on the government by the large organisation which wants to invest and play a role in Bangladesh’s economy,” he said, adding that other international firms had expressed interest in additional port facilities under negotiation.

Danish Ambassador Brix Møller said the investment reflected confidence in Bangladesh’s economic future and in growing Danish-Bangladeshi ties, describing Denmark as Bangladesh’s closest global economic partner over a 50-year partnership. 

He said Denmark aimed to support Bangladesh’s transition “from a production hub to a sustainable production hub.”