The country needs a rapid development of its transport and energy sectors, said economists on Sunday. Otherwise, it will fail to become a developed country by 2041 as targeted by the government, they said. The government should take initiative to make vibrant the private sector as a significant number of industries have recently been closed in different parts of the country due to absence of adequate support from the policy makers, they said at a post news briefing of the newly-established Bangladesh Economists’ Forum’s first conference.
The government should also take measures to increase the skilfulness of the country’s human resource to boost up the production, they said at the briefing held at the central bank headquarters in the capital.
Former Bangladesh Economic Association president Mohiuddin Alamgir said the Padma Multipurpose Bridge should have been constructed earlier, but the authorities concerned failed to do it.
The Mongla Port is still neglected, although the country could generate huge benefit from the port, he said. The government should take immediate measure to develop the port in the interest of the economy, Alamgir said.
‘Some local and foreign contractors have recently secured the country’s large infrastructure-related projects. Some of them failed to complete the projects like Dhaka-Chittagong four-lane highway in due time’, he said.
The companies, which won the bids by placing lower amount, proved that they are not capable of availing the construction work, Alamgir said. The government should select the proper contractors to complete its large projects, he said.
Alamgir said fresh investment in the country virtually stalled while the existing investors were withdrawing their investment. The government should take measures to save the investors from a loss-making situation, he said.
Policy Research Institute vice-chairman Sadiq Ahmed said that the country needed political stability along with good public institutions in a bid to ensure long-term development.
The country needs good governance for its public institutions if it wants consecutive GDP growth in the coming years, he said.
Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies director general Mustafa K Mujeri said it was important to make a roadmap of democratic values if the country wanted to achieve its desirable goal.
He said the Bangladesh Economists’ Forum would try to make the roadmap in the interest of the nation and the country.
When asked why the BEF received sponsorship only from
scheduled banks to organise its conference, Bangladesh Bank deputy governor SK Sur Chowdhury said the banks usually provided 90 per cent fund of corporate social responsibility in the private sector. For this reason, the BEF took the sponsorship from the banks, he said.
The BEF will take fund from other corners in the coming days when it will organise the next programmes, Sur said.
The BEF organised its first conference between June 21 and June 22 at a city hotel in the capital while economists, experts and politicians attended.
-With New Age input
