There is scope of strong private sector participation in improving regional connectivity infrastructure, said former Bangladesh Bank Governor Dr. Atiur Rahman on Thursday.
He was addressing a workshop titled ‘Mobilizing Private Sector to Strengthen Regional Connectivity Infrastructure’ organised by Unnayan Shamannay at the Bissho Shahittya Kendro, Bangamotor, Dhaka.
“To materialize the macroeconomic potential of Bangladesh, connectivity with other South Asian countries must be further strengthened. For that not only transportation infrastructure, but also the capacity of our ports and business hubs must be improved to a significant extent" Atiur added.
He said the promising private sector of the country can do a lot in attaining this objective Panel discussants were- Md. Munir Chowdhury (National Trade Expert, Regional Connectivity Project, Ministry of Trade, GoB); Md. Anisur Rahman (Assistant Director, Bangladesh Land Port Authority); Md. Belal Hossain (General Manager, Panama Sonamasjid Port Link Ltd.); and Md. Abdul Hakim (Chief Operating Officer, Summit Alliance Port Ltd.).
Along with public and private sector stakeholder involved in regional connectivity infrastructure management, researchers, students, and mass-media representatives participated in the workshop.
Dr. Atiur further said that given the prevailing global situation, pacing up regional trade is of critical importance. But to do so, management of the connectivity infrastructure must have the desired quality and speed.
He opined that it is high time to start thinking about how to further increase the participation of the private sector.
The panel discussants emphasized on implementing public-private-partnership models for quality/safety testing of the goods coming/going through the ports, overall port management, and construction of ports.
In the second round of the workshop, the participants discussed about- the areas of connectivity hub management where private sector participation would be most suitable; challenges of large private sector investment in connectivity infrastructure, and accountability of private sector actors engaged in connectivity hub management.
