There is no Indian Economic Zone in Bangladesh's Mirsarai Economic Zone and the idea of having one exists only on "pen and paper", Bangladesh Industrial Development Authority (BIDA) Chairman Ashik Chowdhury has said, amid a strain in ties between the two countries.
Earlier, the Bangladesh Economic Zone Authority (BEZA) had welcomed Indian investment in the Indian Economic Zone project in Mirsarai, a town in Chattogram district in the neighbouring country. In 2020, India had approved $115 million in principle under the third line of credit to support the project with an aim to create infrastructure on a 900-acre of land in the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Industrial City.
"I know there is confusion over whether in the Mirsarai Economic Zone, there is an Indian Economic Zone or not. If you look at the original master plan of the Mirsarai Economic Zone, the plan was for 33,000 acres. We have cut down that in Phase 1 and reduced it to 10,000 to 15,000 acres. I believe that we do not need so much space. We can look at the rest in the second or the third phase," Mr Chowdhury said.
"What is usually said about the Indian Economic Zone, that is only an economic zone on pen and paper. This was there in the original master plan but there was no progress or significant work done on this. The area marked in the master plan is a forest area. Practically, there is no progress or set up there, so there is a lot of misconception about this in the public domain. I had clarified earlier and I am clarifying again that there is no activity that has happened there," he added.
The BIDA Chairman said that after the Muhammad Yunus-led interim government took charge in August last year, there was no progress on the project. "It is a complete pause or in a postponement position... The Chittagong Port is not just Chittagong's port. It is entire Bangladesh's port, and we are saying it is for the entire South Asia and even the seven sisters and Nepal and Bhutan. For everyone, it is primary," he said.
The BIDA official's remarks came amid declining relations between India and Bangladesh since last year, after the latter failed to contain attacks on minorities, especially Hindus, in the country. Bilateral ties further nosedived after Dhaka's pitch to China on Northeast India earlier this year, prompting New Delhi to impose a slew of curbs on that country.
In March, Bangladesh interim government's Chief Advisor Mohammad Yunus said Dhaka is the "only guardian of the ocean" for landlocked Northeast India, evoking a sharp reaction from New Delhi and its political leaders.
On April 9, India withdrew the transhipment facility it had granted to Bangladesh for exporting various items to the Middle East, Europe and various other countries, except Nepal and Bhutan.
Days later on April 13, yarn exports from India across landports were stopped and Indian shipments were subjected to rigorous inspections on entry to Bangladesh. On May 17, India imposed port restrictions on the import of certain goods, such as readymade garments and processed food items, from Bangladesh, in response to similar curbs placed by Dhaka on certain Indian products last month.
Reacting to Mr Yunus's remarks, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said: "...No country should be under the impression that it can take over the Chicken's Neck. The World has seen India's military prowess during Operation Sindoor."
The Chicken's Neck, known as the Siliguri Corridor, is a narrow strip of land, measuring around 22 km-35 km in width, that connects the northeast region with the rest of India.
"We have one Chicken's Neck. But Bangladesh has two Chicken Necks. If Bangladesh attacks our Chicken's Neck, we will attack both the Chicken Necks of Bangladesh," Mr Sarma said, referring to a narrow corridor that connects the rest of Bangladesh to Chittagong, its largest port city.
Chittagong has seen trouble in the past and Bangladesh seems to suggest that India's Northeast is solely dependent on access to the Chittagong port.
India has already announced a new four-lane highway from Shillong in Meghalaya to Silchar in Assam.
The Kaladan Multi Modal Transit Transport Project in Myanmar is set to connect the Kolkata port to Sittwe port on the Kaladan river in Rakhine state. The Sittwe port will be connected to Paletwa in Myanmar through an inland waterway, the Kaladan River and finally to Zorinpui on the southernmost tip of Mizoram, through a road section. Once Mizoram is connected to Sittwe, the rest of the Northeast can easily access the sea.
