Bangladesh Export Processing Zones Authority (Bepza) will lease 1,150 acres of land at Tk 300 crore at Mirsarai in Chittagong to set up an economic zone.

Bepza has received permission from the Prime Minister's Office to sign a memorandum of understanding with Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority (Beza) in this regard.

The deal will be signed this week for 50 years, which can be extended upon mutual understanding, said a Beza official.

“Bepza has the experience and skills to operate export processing zones and attract investment from home and abroad,” said Paban Chowdhury, executive chairman of Beza.

“We hope our objective of industrialisation and employment generation through the economic zones will be fulfilled.”

Beza aims to create jobs for one crore people in 100 economic zones by 2030 and produce goods and services worth $40 billion. An economic zone is a designated area in a country with special economic regulations that differ from the rest of the country.

An entrepreneur can enjoy various benefits, including tax incentives, from the authorities by setting up an industrial unit in an economic zone.

Bepza Executive Chairman Mohd Habibur Rahman Khan, at a programme last week, said, “We expect to develop the zone in the next two years. Some 350 industrial units can be set up in the zone, which will also create employment for about 5 lakh people.”

The total investment in eight EPZs of Bepza stood at $4,176.64 million at the end of December last year, while the export from the EPZs stood at $52,817 million in the same period, according to its website.

Despite high demand, Bepza was unable to allocate industrial plots to investors in the last few years due to a scarcity of land in the EPZs, especially in the Dhaka and Chittagong regions.

The new economic zone will allow Bepza to allocate plots to the potential foreign the local investors.