'Impact of Ongoing Mega projects on the Development of Bangladesh'.
History manifests that mega projects may become landmarks for a country by bringing transformational impact on the lives of the long-deprived people. Mega projects are material drivers for accelerating the economic growth of developing countries, especially while in transition to development. As Bangladesh is on the highway to be graduated from LDCs, this leads the country to adopt the much-talked mega project culture-- a tendency to combine multiple projects into one mega project. Though Bangladesh's success story, especially in managing funds for "big-ticket mega projects", has been applauded worldwide, criticism arises on the prudency of these investment decisions. How wise are these investment decisions?
By prioritizing eight mega infrastructures as "fast-track projects", Bangladesh is basically planting seeds for sustainable future. These widely discussed projects are Padma Bridge and Rail Link, Metro Rail, Chattogram-Cox's Bazar Rail Link, Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant, The Coal-Fired Power
Plant of Matarbari and Rampal, and the Payra Sea Port.
To materialize the vision-2041 of becoming a developed country, Bangladesh is giving big-push for timely implementation of its "flagship projects" since these are expected to raise the country's GDP by 4 per cent upon successful completion. Even amid economic fallout triggered by Covid-19, construction of these mega projects is going on in full swing to set the stage for economic take-off. The ongoing mega projects are intended to make the country exceptionally rewarding in terms of economic margin and safe investment by upgrading existing physical infrastructure and creating an exemplary business environment.
The outlay of a big chunk of resources on long-awaited mega projects results in the biggest investment boom in Bangladesh's development history-- showcasing economic rise and development records. These staggering projects are expected to transform the economic face of the country by opening new business horizons and acting as an economic development engine. For instance- the Padma bridge will connect 21 southern districts with the capital ensuring cheap and regular supply of raw materials needed for industrialization; the Matarbari port will boost cross- border trade through facilitating speedy port service and integrated connectivity.
These "multi-billion-dollar projects" are duly weighted to generate sustainable returns from the land of Bangladesh. Government's effort to mobilize the investors and donors to ensure "hefty investment" for mega projects created a big financial space for hard infrastructure development. The country is trying to utilize mega projects as a lever to turn it into lucrative investment destinations by offering tangible benefits e.g., logistics support, and non-tangible benefits like competitive environment.
These signature projects, if properly managed, will successfully address Bangladesh's infrastructure deficiencies, transport crises, and power shortages in a sustainable manner. But the "iron law of mega projects -- over budget, over time, over and over again" created the "mega projects paradox" giving birth to two opposite schools of thought regarding their impact on the community. One school criticises mega projects questioning financial viability and complaining about cost overrun, environmental degradation, and overburdening external debt. While another school justifies mega projects stating that government usually conducts extensive "cost-benefit analysis" before taking up any giant project and cancels any project if it is not economically viable or environmentally sustainable e.g., scrapping the plan of Sonadia deep sea-port.
Investing in mega projects to stimulate economic development has been one of the most popular policy instruments since the 1930's great depression. Even the "Sustainable Development Goals Framework" emphasized spending about $57 trillion on infrastructure by 2030 to ensure desired global GDP growth. Bangladesh envisaged implementing "large-infrastructure megaprojects", even before "Agenda 2030" was adopted, to make the country "investment hotspot" of South Asia. "East Asian Tigers", in their early days of development, invested heavily in "ground-breaking megaprojects" to deliver economic and social goods to the masses. To give momentum to the economy and change the course of national progress, Bangladesh is following in the footsteps of "The Asian Story of Grand Success"-- a miracle of economic transformation. Bangladesh may also take lessons from the Gyeongbu Expressway of South Korea to generate optimum output from mega projects.
These "high-yielding projects" will act as an economic game changer, through revenue generation for maintenance and capital accumulation for future funding, to take the growth rate to two-dig miracle number. These 'trait making' not 'trait taking' projects will change the social structure and landscape by exploiting 'economies of scale'. The gravest challenge is to address cost escalation du to snail's progress, redress red-tapism to avoid a 'debilitating effect' on implementation, and prevent fund embezzlement to make sure that these initiatives do not turn into 'leaky buckets'. These projects may go off the rails due to over-complexity, over-optimism, and poor execution that also
needs to be addressed.
Mega project is not the panacea to all the infrastructural deficiencies, rather one of the best available alternatives. It is the responsibility of the government to confirm that the 'cost underestimation and benefit overestimation' tendency is avoided while planning. Mega project promoters, while promoting their pet-projects, should be handled carefully since they may create a distorted hall-of- mirrors making the situation extremely perplexing to decide which projects deserve undertaking and which not. It is the best project that should be implemented, not the one that looks best on paper. These epoch-making initiatives of Bangladesh, taken to date so far, are just the beginning of a journey-- a journey that can shed more light on the path towards more prosperity.
Related Question
View AllPress freedom takes influential place in a country. It represent citizen’s freedom of speech. Media can expose news without obstructer or any controls by government and organizations. There should not be control over the press. As press freedom is necessary for the preventability of corruption, development of economy and maintenance of democracy. One of the advantages of press freedom is it can help to control on the level of corruption. A country which has higher press freedom tends to lower corruption in government or some private’s agents (Brunetti & Weder, 2003). Sometimes countries might think press free threats the stable of political and it might easy be controlled by different organizations. However, again the most persuasive idea come.
The Importance of Press Freedom
Press freedom is a cornerstone of any democratic society. It refers to the right of journalists and media organizations to report news and express opinions without fear of censorship, punishment, or interference from the government or powerful groups. A free press acts as the voice of the people, holding those in power accountable and ensuring transparency in governance.
One of the key roles of a free press is to inform the public. Citizens rely on accurate, unbiased news to make educated decisions about their lives, communities, and governments. When the press is free, it can investigate and expose corruption, injustice, and abuse of power — playing a crucial role in promoting justice and good governance.
Press freedom also encourages healthy public debate and protects the right to dissent. It allows for the exchange of diverse opinions and fosters an informed and active citizenry. In countries where press freedom is restricted, misinformation spreads easily, and people may live under fear or ignorance, manipulated by propaganda.
Moreover, a free press supports other human rights by giving a platform to marginalized voices and shining a light on human rights violations. It empowers the public by keeping them aware of their rights and the issues affecting society.
> In conclusion, press freedom is vital for truth, accountability, and democracy. Without it, society risks becoming misinformed, oppressed, and corrupt. A truly free press serves not just as a watchdog, but as a pillar of liberty and progress.
“Health for all” implies the removal of the obstacles to health that is to say, the elimination of malnutrition, ignorance, contaminated drinking-water, and unhygienic housing quite as much as it does the solution of purely medical problems such as a lack of doctors, hospital beds, drugs and vaccines. Health for All in Bangladesh contains the most comprehensive information available about primary health care services in Bangladesh, including activities in maternal and child health care, Family planning, reproductive health care, nutrition, quality of care, and health care financing.
Cluster Villages
A majority of the Bangladesh population are farmers who are settled in villages. They toil to make both ends meet and produce crops for the entire nation. Bangladesh has about 68,000 villages, which are scattered throughout the country. A village is called the rural part of the country. It is called rural because it does not have modern facilities like cities. The main occupation of the villagers is farming. They are the primary source of the nation's agricultural production.
Description of Villages
Villages have either tiny hamlets of thatched huts or large settlements of tiled roofs, stones, and brick homes. An impression has been created by artists and filmmakers that an Indian village is a simple cluster of mud-plastered walls, shaded by trees, overlooking the large expanses of green fields with a few people moving slowly and of course, bullock carts. They portray a village woman with a pot on her head and walking gracefully, her skirt swaying gently. The reality is that a village is the hub of nonstop activity, with their stronger work ethics. Agriculture is tough and requires hard work. The villagers work very hard and are always trying to find innovative methods of growing wheat, rice, and lentils.
Importance of Village
The village is important because it is the primary sector of agricultural production for our country. The village is the backbone of Bangladesh economy. It also plays a major role in maintaining the ecological balance of the environment. Villages are mostly covered with trees and plants. They are covered with green grasslands. One can see acres of green fields as far as the eyes could see. They provide shelter to many animals.
Life in Village
The village life is full of contentment and happiness, as people are not in a hurry like in city life. Village people live a very simple life. Villages are mostly situated far from the hustle and bustle of urban civilization. The beauty of nature can be experienced in a village as it is surrounded by trees, flowers, mountains, streams, and farmlands. There is no pollution in the village and one can feel the freshness in the breeze. The demands of the villagers are not too high but they are still deprived of basic facilities. Clean drinking water, electricity, health center, schools, proper sanitation are a few facilities that are lacking in the villages. Their poverty is always visible in the atmosphere.
Conclusion
My village is a small abode for happy people. Here they live in harmony and peace. The village people are very hardworking and thus they must have a good source of upliftment. Like the village’s schools and clinics should be maintained and increased in number. The farmers should be facilitated by helping them to leverage their sales, make them notified about the modern techniques used in farming, and give them compensation and knowledge of the true market price of their crops. Thus, I would request governmental authorities to come forward and uplift the medical, educational, and farming facilities in the village.
Problems of urban living in Bangladesh
Cities in Bangladesh are faced with the challenges of rapid population increase characterized by crises such as lack of economic dynamism, governance failure, severe infrastructure and service deficiencies, inadequate land administration, massive slums and social breakdown. However, urban centers continue to grow, despite the severity of these obstacles. As a result, urban areas in Bangladesh have exceptionally high population density, but relatively low economic density. High population density, combined with rapid urbanization, implies a large and fast-growing urban population to manage. Dhaka city, the largest urban conurbation in Bangladesh, is one of the most densely populated urban areas in the world. However, the economic density of Bangladesh’s urban areas (GDP or value-added per square km) is relatively low from an international perspective. Economic activity is concentrated in Dhaka and Chittagong. About 9% of the Bangladesh population lives in the Dhaka metropolitan area, which contributes to 36% of the country’s GDP. An additional 11% of the Bangladesh GDP is generated by Chittagong, the second-largest city and home to 3% of the population. The economic gap between Dhaka and Chittagong compared to other medium and small-size cities is large and widening.
Bangladesh needs to build an urban space that is capable of innovating, is better connected and more livable in order to make cities competitive. Bangladesh’s urban space is falling behind in all three of these drivers of competitiveness. The Dhaka metro area needs to evolve into a diversified economy with skilled human resources and an innovation capacity fueled by the cross-fertilization of ideas typical of large metropolitan areas. Dhaka metro area also needs to be better connected internally and with its peri-urban areas, and both Dhaka and Chittagong have to strengthen their connection to the global economy. Improved connectivity within Bangladesh’s system of cities is also important for productivity and export competitiveness. The development of an economically dynamic urban space, in particular in the Dhaka metro region, has occurred at the expense of livability. The livability of the urban space will become an even more binding constraint to sustained growth as Bangladesh transitions to a new business model based on higher-value industries and services, which need a highly skilled and internationally mobile workforce. This is a tall order for Bangladesh, but planning needs to start today for Bangladesh’s cities to become more competitive in future.
Urbanization have crucial role to play in the economic development of Bangladesh. The circumstances under which population in Dhaka and Chittagong are growing without proportionate infrastructural development will begin to wipe out most of the gains associated with urbanization. That is, relative high levels of urbanization may not be sufficient to ensure higher levels of economic welfare in Bangladesh. This has happened in Latin America with levels of urbanization, above 80%, yet with real per capita incomes about a third that of developed nations. It could happen in Bangladesh as well unless the urban managers rise from their prolonged slumber.
My school days
School is said to be a temple of knowledge, the very first place that introduced you to the world and more so your own self. My school life is all about the memories I deeply cherish. The memories of not only the fun, friendship and all the sport and extracurricular but also the way it helped me find my interests. I owe it all to my school life. It has made me who I am today.
My school life has been full of different experiences over the years. It gave various opportunities to develop not only my scholastic abilities but also the art and sport side. It supported me in my sports as well as exposed me to numerous types of people. All of this accounted to make me understand how to behave socially and in building a personality which I have today.
There are numerous things that make school life the best phase in one’s life. All of this eventually is because we are young to do mistakes again and again till we realize, dumb enough to not think about people and do what we feel like doing, curious to know everything we can and most importantly still not exposed and contaminated with the evil feelings of this world. And all of this makes us build a personality of our own.
Export trade means selling goods and services to other countries. It is very important for a country’s economic growth, as it brings in foreign money, creates jobs, and promotes international relationships.
Our Export Trade
Export trade is a key part of any nation's economy. It refers to the process of sending goods and services produced in one country to be sold in another. India, with its rich resources, skilled workforce, and growing industries, is actively involved in export trade.
India exports a wide variety of goods to different parts of the world. These include agricultural products like rice, tea, and spices; textiles and garments; gems and jewellery; pharmaceuticals; engineering goods; and even software and IT services. These exports not only bring money into the country but also help in building India's reputation globally.
Export trade has many advantages. It earns foreign exchange, which helps us import important goods like oil and technology. It creates employment for millions of people in farming, factories, shipping, and logistics. Exporting also motivates industries to improve their quality and standards, making Indian products more competitive worldwide.
The government supports export trade through incentives, special economic zones (SEZs), and by signing international trade agreements. Organizations such as the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) and Export Promotion Councils guide and assist exporters.
However, India faces some challenges. Global markets are highly competitive. There are issues like transport delays, customs procedures, and foreign trade restrictions. To grow stronger, India must invest in better infrastructure, promote digital trade, and support small businesses in exploring new markets.
In conclusion, export trade is very important for our country's growth. It helps build a stronger economy, supports industries, and connects India to the world. With smart planning and effort, India can continue to grow as a leading exporter on the global stage.
Our Export Trade Export trade plays a vital role in the economic development of a country. For a developing country like Bangladesh, which has limited natural resources and a large population, export trade is not only a source of foreign exchange but also a means of employment generation and industrial growth. Over the years, Bangladesh has made significant progress in expanding its export sector, with a focus on diversification and quality improvement. The main export items of Bangladesh include ready-made garments (RMG), jute and jute goods, leather and leather products, frozen fish and shrimp, agricultural products, ceramics, pharmaceuticals, and more recently, information and communication technology (ICT) services. Among them, the RMG sector is the most dominant, contributing over 80% of the country’s total export earnings. Bangladesh is currently the second-largest garment exporter in the world, after China. Jute, once called the "Golden Fibre" of Bangladesh, has regained some of its lost glory in the international market due to increased demand for eco-friendly products. Similarly, leather goods and frozen food sectors have shown promising growth. The government has also taken steps to promote non-traditional export items like handicrafts, light engineering products, and software services. Export trade has helped Bangladesh to earn valuable foreign currency, reduce unemployment, and improve the standard of living. It has also strengthened the country’s position in the global economy. However, there are still several challenges to overcome. Dependence on a single sector like RMG makes the economy vulnerable to global market shocks. Additionally, infrastructural deficiencies, lack of skilled labor, political instability, and compliance issues often hinder export growth. To overcome these challenges, Bangladesh needs to diversify its export base, improve product quality, invest in research and innovation, and ensure compliance with international labor and environmental standards. Developing efficient ports, improving transportation, and providing policy support and incentives for exporters are also essential steps. In conclusion, export trade is a cornerstone of Bangladesh’s economic progress. With strategic planning, proper implementation of policies, and international cooperation, Bangladesh can further expand its export markets and achieve sustainable development
Our Export Trade (Bangladesh)
Export trade plays a vital role in the economic development of a country. For a developing country like Bangladesh, which has limited natural resources and a large population, export trade is not only a source of foreign exchange but also a means of employment generation and industrial growth. Over the years, Bangladesh has made significant progress in expanding its export sector, with a focus on diversification and quality improvement.
The main export items of Bangladesh include ready-made garments (RMG), jute and jute goods, leather and leather products, frozen fish and shrimp, agricultural products, ceramics, pharmaceuticals, and more recently, information and communication technology (ICT) services. Among them, the RMG sector is the most dominant, contributing over 80% of the country’s total export earnings. Bangladesh is currently the second-largest garment exporter in the world, after China.
Jute, once called the "Golden Fibre" of Bangladesh, has regained some of its lost glory in the international market due to increased demand for eco-friendly products. Similarly, leather goods and frozen food sectors have shown promising growth. The government has also taken steps to promote non-traditional export items like handicrafts, light engineering products, and software services.
Export trade has helped Bangladesh to earn valuable foreign currency, reduce unemployment, and improve the standard of living. It has also strengthened the country’s position in the global economy. However, there are still several challenges to overcome. Dependence on a single sector like RMG makes the economy vulnerable to global market shocks. Additionally, infrastructural deficiencies, lack of skilled labor, political instability, and compliance issues often hinder export growth.
To overcome these challenges, Bangladesh needs to diversify its export base, improve product quality, invest in research and innovation, and ensure compliance with international labor and environmental standards. Developing efficient ports, improving transportation, and providing policy support and incentives for exporters are also essential steps.
In conclusion, export trade is a cornerstone of Bangladesh’s economic progress. With strategic planning, proper implementation of policies, and international cooperation, Bangladesh can further expand its export markets and achieve sustainable development
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