Korea's Kotra eyes wider role in Bangladesh's new town development

The Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (Kotra) in Dhaka is expanding its role in Bangladesh beyond trade and investment promotion, with a particular focus on supporting new town development through infrastructure feasibility studies, smart-city solutions and Korean expertise.

Kotra Deputy Director Dhaka Lee Sung-hoon (Daniel Lee), in an interview with BSS, said Kotra is currently working to facilitate Korean participation in Bangladesh's infrastructure and new town development projects.

As part of the initiative, Kotra in March launched an official development assistance (ODA) project worth approximately $3.5 million to conduct feasibility studies for six infrastructure projects supporting new town development in Bangladesh over the next three years.

"Six key areas, including water supply, renewable energy, e-logistics and waste treatment, have been identified for the development of the NSEZ smart city under Korea's Economic Innovation Partnership Program (EIPP)," he said.

Lee said the initiative reflects Kotra's growing role as a business developer connecting Korean companies with Bangladesh in emerging sectors, including infrastructure, smart cities, transport, railways, ports, water management, power, AI and ICT.

"We act as a business developer between Korea and Bangladesh," he said, explaining that Kotra's activities include identifying buyers, arranging business meetings for Korean companies, supporting bids for infrastructure and ICT projects and advising Korean companies seeking to establish operations in Bangladesh.

He said Kotra also operates a branch-office service to manage the Bangladeshi market on behalf of Korean small and medium-sized enterprises that do not yet have a physical presence in the country.

Highlighting a recent initiative, Lee said Kotra Dhaka and the Embassy of the Republic of Korea jointly organised an infrastructure and AI roadshow in June, bringing together around 40 Korean companies and 22 Bangladeshi government agencies and public organisations.

The roadshow covered a wide range of areas, including transport, power, water, smart cities, digital government, industrial modernisation and regulatory compliance in the garment sector.

According to Lee, such programmes are aimed at matching Bangladesh's development needs with Korean technology, expertise and investment capacity.

He said Kotra is also working on carbon-reduction and green projects as well as ODA initiatives linked to new town development, reflecting Korea's broader interest in supporting sustainable and technology-driven urbanisation in Bangladesh.

Lee noted that Kotra's activities in Bangladesh have their roots in the development of the country's ready-made garment (RMG) industry.

He recalled that in 1978, Korea's Daewoo entered Bangladesh's garment sector through a joint venture with the government.

Bangladeshi workers received training in sewing techniques and factory management at Korean production facilities before returning home and spreading their knowledge across the local industry, he added.

He described this as "the single most important legacy" Korea and Kotra have left in Bangladesh, saying the transfer of knowledge helped lay the foundation for Bangladesh's emergence as the world's second-largest garment-exporting nation.

Korean investment in the garment sector subsequently expanded, with Youngone Corporation making its own joint-venture investment and contributing to the development of Bangladesh as a major garment production hub.

Lee also highlighted the Korean Export Processing Zone (KEPZ) in Chattogram, describing it as a permanent duty-free industrial zone covering roughly 992 hectares.

"Korea is the only country in Bangladesh with a dedicated industrial zone bearing its name," he said, viewing the KEPZ as a symbol of the trust and longstanding economic relationship between the two countries.

Today, Kotra Dhaka's activities cover a broad range of sectors, including consumer goods, public procurement, roads, transport, railways, ports, AI, ICT, green and carbon-reduction projects, and ODA-related development initiatives.

Lee said Kotra supports Korean companies by identifying business opportunities, facilitating contacts with Bangladeshi buyers and public agencies, organising business meetings, operating Korean pavilions at local exhibitions and providing market-entry support.

He cited K-Goods Festa 2026, held at Jamuna Future Park in June, as another recent initiative through which Korean consumer products were introduced directly to Bangladeshi consumers, importers and retailers.

Lee said the scale of Korean economic engagement in Bangladesh is reflected in several hundred million dollars in cumulative investment and more than 100 operating Korean companies.

However, he said the value of Korea-Bangladesh economic relations should not be measured only by investment figures.

"What we value more is that Korea helped an entire industry take root in this country - and that we are still doing the same work today, in new sectors, every year," he said.

He added that Kotra would continue working to identify new areas of cooperation and connect Korean companies and technologies with Bangladesh's development priorities, particularly in infrastructure, new town development, AI, ICT and green projects.