Dhaka, June 30 (New Age): 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.