Cancellation of land allotment to BEPZA: Foreign investors may sue govt

The recent cabinet decision to cancel of allotment of 60 acres of land of the food department at Halisahar earlier allotted to Bangladesh Export Processing Zone Authority (BEPZA) has reportedly prompted several foreign investors to sue the government.
Messrs Cosmos Shoes, one of the foreign investors, is learnt to have claimed a compensation of US $ 100 million while several others are in the process of taking the government to the International Court of Justice.
Informed sources said the past four-party alliance government during the fag end of its tenure took over 60 acres of land and the structures of the Central Storage Depot (CSD) at Halishahar from the food department and handed it over to Bangladesh Export Processing Zone Authority (BEPZA) for building Karnaphuli Export Processing Zone.
After the cyclone CIDR in 2007, the caretaker government ordered the food department to get the CSD back for storing the food grains that came from the friendly nations as the relief for the cyclone victims.
The BEPZA though got the possession of the newly acquired land for its Karnaphuli Export Processing Zone project on papers, it could not start implementation of its project for want of physical possession. A huge quantity of food grains filled up the CSD at that time.
Finally, the cabinet meeting on March 22 this year scrapped the BEPZA project and ordered giving away the land and the existing facilities in favor of the food department.
The cabinet decision allegedly put more than a dozen foreign investors into trouble as many of them invested a large amount of money into their respective projects to be built on the land that has been returned to the Central Storage Depot (CSD).
Some of the leading traders here in the port city said that many of the investors at Karnaphuli Export Processing Zone had signed product supply agreements with the buyers while some were awaiting setting up of their factories and other installations.
They feared that the move would damage the image of the country aborad.
As the BEPZA breached the agreement signed with the foreign investors, it has to take up remedial measures in this regard. Otherwise, they might seek legal protection of the court both at home and abroad, according to some investors.

Courtesy of The New Nation