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Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority

autonomous · verified (verified 2026-05-17)

Profile

Head
Chowdhury Ashik Mahmud Bin Harun
Role
Executive Chairman
Annual budget
—
Staff
130
Established
2010
Legal basis
Bangladesh Economic Zones Act 2010 (SRO No. 373-Law/2010); BEZA formally instituted 9 November 2010 under the Prime Minister's Office

BEZA is executing a focused five-zone strategy after formally abandoning the 100-zone rollout target (January-February 2026). The two long-stalled Indian G2G zones at Mirsharai and Mongla were cancelled at a governing board meeting on 26 January 2026. The flagship National SEZ (Mirsharai/Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Shilpa Nagar, 33,805 acres) has $1.23 billion in cumulative investment with five units operational. The Japanese EZ (Araihazar) shows early traction with $97 million invested and 3,000 jobs. A joint 180-day action plan with BIDA, PPPA, and MIDA (launched 16 March 2026) targets $5.5 billion in FDI across five priority zones.

Recent activity

Provenance & notes

Executive Chairman Chowdhury Ashik Mahmud Bin Harun concurrently heads both BIDA (appointed 12 September 2024) and BEZA (additionally appointed 18 September 2024); he is the first private-sector appointee to lead either agency. On 7 April 2026 the Cabinet Division granted him state minister rank. BEZA's governing board is chaired by the Chief Adviser (Prime Minister equivalent under the interim government) with members including the Finance Minister and Bangladesh Bank Governor. Staff count of 130 is the sanctioned strength per BEZA's own 'at a glance' page; actual deployed headcount not separately published. Annual budget not disaggregated in any accessible public source; set to null. The 'Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Shilpa Nagar' brand name is under review by the interim government but retained here as the legal/official name per BEZA's own website as of May 2026. The Indian EZ at Mirsharai (323.75 ha) is distinct from the broader National SEZ spanning 33,805 acres at the same location; the Indian allocation was a sub-parcel now reassigned. The Mongla Indian EZ (110 acres) was a PPP zone with PowerPac-PPMKPPL JV as developer; the Indian G2G layer (not the PPP layer) was what was cancelled. Japanese EZ in Araihazar, Narayanganj is a separate zone from the Mirsharai complex; 'Japanese Mirsharai EZ' in the task brief refers to Japanese investor interest in Mirsharai's National SEZ, not the Araihazar zone.

Sources