Godrej: Beyond borders

New Delhi, July 26: Chittagong could be the next stop for India Inc if Dhaka allows an Indo-Bangla special economic zone in the port city, CII president Adi Godrej said.

“Though nothing has been finalised, an SEZ in Bangladesh can come up in Chittagong or any of the areas bordering India. It would make for a very strategic location for industry and trade,” Godrej told The Telegraph.

Fifty Indian investors, including the Tatas, the Birlas and the TVS group, have proposed an SEZ for Indo-Bangla joint ventures.

Godrej, who led a 14-member delegation of the Confederation of Indian Industry to Dhaka, said an SEZ could open up the entire Southeast Asia to Indian business.

Domestic firms are planning to increase investment in Bangladesh at a time bilateral trade is surging.

“Setting up an SEZ exclusively for Indian investors will be beneficial to both the countries,” Godrej said.

The CII team discussed the issue with the Bangladesh commerce ministry and the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry.

According to the CII, Indian entrepreneurs are more interested in tying up with Bangladeshi investors as the future of bilateral trade looks bright.

According to analysts, a successful negotiation between the two countries could see raw materials and produce from the Northeast being shipped to Chittagong for value addition at the SEZ, which would offer employment to the Bangladeshis.

CII officials said Bangladesh had also proposed an SEZ at Chhatak in Sunamganj, a northeastern district bordering Meghalaya.

In the past few years, trade with Bangladesh has reached $4.3 billion. Cotton, vegetables, automobiles, iron and steel, mineral fuels, cereals and organic chemicals are a few of the items that India exports to Bangladesh.

Imported items include paper yarn and woven fabrics, fish, cement, copper and related products, inorganic chemicals, raw hides and fertilisers.