Govt to begin unifying all investment promotion agencies from April 2026

The government is moving into the final stage of unifying all major investment promotion bodies into a single central Investment Promotion Agency (IPA), with implementation expected to begin in April 2026, according to officials at the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (Bida).

The roadmap for the merger is expected to be approved by February 2026, Bida sources said.

Currently, several agencies operate separately in investment facilitation — Bida, the Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority (Beza), the Bangladesh Export Processing Zones Authority (Bepza), the Public Private Partnership Authority, and the Bangladesh Hi-Tech Park Authority.

Beza, Bepza and the Hi-Tech Park Authority all allocate industrial plots independently, requiring investors to approach multiple bodies, which complicates the investment process.

Bida's internal review found that Bangladesh has "multiple investment promotion agencies essentially performing similar functions", yet none of them has the capacity to "individually meet investors' comprehensive needs".

National committee finalises merger plan

According to Bida sources, a national committee led by Industry Adviser Adilur Rahman Khan has finalised the consolidation plan. The roadmap will be approved by February, with rollout scheduled for April.

Bida officials said a unified investment body would streamline the investment ecosystem through coordinated strategy-making, stronger policy leadership, integrated data systems, and improved technical capacity within the agency.

Decision backed by the chief adviser

The decision to unify the agencies was endorsed at the 3rd meeting of the Bida Governing Board on 13 April, chaired by Chief Adviser and Bida Governing Board Chairman Muhammad Yunus.

Meeting sources quoted the chief adviser as saying that a national committee must review the issue and gather opinions before finalising the transformation.

"This will be a mega authority. A mega authority can be good, but if the wrong person leads it, it could lead to disaster," he cautioned.

Following the meeting, the national committee began consultations with relevant agencies to draft the merger roadmap, including the structure and implementation process.

Government moves to hand over Savar tannery estate to Bepza

Separately, the government has initiated steps to transfer management of the Savar Tannery Industrial Estate from the Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industries Corporation (Bscic) to Bepza.

A committee is currently working on the plan and is expected to submit an implementation outline within this month.

Beza Executive Member Major General (Retd) Md Nazrul Islam told The Business Standard, "A feasibility committee is being formed to comprehensively assess the pros and cons of bringing the Savar Tannery Industrial Estate under Bepza's authority. We're focusing on four pillars — regulatory, operational, administrative, legal, and financial aspects."

Bida Executive Member and Head of Business Development Nahian Rahman Rochi told The Business Standard that the structural framework has already been completed.

"The government will start implementing the unification of all investment promotion agencies from April," he said.