Realizing the Potential of Bangladesh through Economic Corridor Development

Abstract

Having surpassed the lower middle-income threshold in July 2015, Bangladesh seeks to build on the economic gains it has reaped over the past decades to achieve sustainable growth and attain upper middle-income status. Therefore, it is pertinent for Bangladesh to focus on infrastructure, logistics, research and development, and industrial diversification to remain competitive in a changing economic landscape. The country needs to implement policy reforms to improve the business environment, reduce the cost of doing business, and diversify its industrial base. Exploiting the full potential of the country’s various regions and finding new sources of growth will be critical for Bangladesh to embark on and sustain a higher growth trajectory. Thus, Bangladesh needs a holistic development strategy such as economic corridor development to drive structural transformation and regionally balanced development. Economic corridor development is an appropriate integrative strategy for the country as it is proven to be an effective tool to enable industrial proliferation, create jobs, upgrade infrastructure, align infrastructure development with urban and social agglomerations, unify domestic markets, and link production centers with global value chains. Economic corridors would decentralize development away from Dhaka and Chattogram, create jobs, and create markets in regions lagging behind.