Naf Tourism Park

Naf Tourism Park is a proposed economic zone in the Jaliardip, Cox's Bazar, and will be the first exclusive tourism park in Bangladesh.[1] BEZA is developing this as part of its plan to develop 100 special economic zones throughout the country.[2]

History

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved the project on 6 May 2015.[3] Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority (BEZA) has planned to develop a new tourism park in Sabrang in Teknaf. But the government faced major challenges like lack of infrastructure such as water and power supplies and water treatment systems and the rehabilitation of farmers. Cox's Bazar is also prone to storms. The Sabrang site is vulnerable to flood and storm surges. The developer or authorities will have to bear high expenses for embankments and landfills.[4]

Location

Naf Tourism Park will be located in the Jaliardwip island which is situated in the middle of the Naf river that divides Myanmar and Bangladesh. The island is diverse and multifaceted as it has both hill and river view.[1]

Construction

The Department of Environment (DoE) has provided environmental clearance for the development of the Tourism Park. A feasibility study was carried out by the UNICONSULT- a German based consultancy firm, Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and Socio-economic Impact Assessment (SIA) was done by PricewaterhouseCoopers, India.[5] The government has asked for bid for building various infrastructure for the tourists.[2][6]

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina laid the foundation stone of the project on 6 May 2017.[7]

On 12 September 2018 Siam Siam International of Thailand signed an agreement with Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority (BEZA) to invest around $500 million for the infrastructure development. The development of the park will be done in phases in the next five years.[8][9]

Objections to the location

A group of environmentalists, opposes the project citing its status as a sanctuary of many animals. The soil level of this island also often remains submerged.[6]

References
  1. "Naf Tourism Park (Jaliardwip) «  BEZA". www.beza.gov.bd. Retrieved 2017-11-16.
  2. "Building tourism park faces challenges". The Daily Star. 2016-09-07. Retrieved 2017-11-16.
  3. "Public Private Partnership Authority Bangladesh". www.pppo.gov.bd. Retrieved 2017-11-16.
  4. "Work on Naf Tourism Park progressing fast". The Bangladesh Today. Retrieved 2017-11-16.
  5. "Tourism park planned on island in Naf River". Dhaka Tribune. Retrieved 2017-11-16.
  6. "Modern tourism park to be set up on Jaliardip in Teknaf". The Asian Age. Dhaka. Retrieved 2017-11-16.
  7. "PM to open 17 projects in Cox's Bazar on Saturday". Dhaka Tribune. Retrieved 2018-02-11.
  8. "Thai co to invest $500mn in Naf Tourism Park". Daily Sun. Retrieved 2019-02-16.
  9. "Naf Tourism Park to create 12,000 employments". The Financial Express. Dhaka. Retrieved 2019-02-16.

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