Experts and business leaders have called for stronger economic connectivity with neighbouring countries, saying Chattogram could emerge as a major regional logistics hub through expanded trade and transport links.

They said domestic infrastructure development alone would not be enough to unlock Bangladesh's economic potential. The country needs to strengthen regional connectivity centred on Chattogram port, alongside developing deep-sea port facilities, the Bay Terminal, Matarbari port, energy security, road and waterway networks, and administrative decentralisation.

They also stressed the need for coordinated economic, cultural and administrative development to make the most of the city's potential.

The observations came at a seminar titled “Chattogram: Economic Gateway & Lifeline of Bangladesh”, organised by the Commonwealth Journalists Association (CJA)-Bangladesh Chapter at the World Trade Centre auditorium in Agrabad.

AP Bangladesh Bureau Chief Julhas Alam moderated the programme, while CJA-B President Parveen F. Chowdhury presided over it.

Chittagong Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) President Mohammed Amirul Haque presented the keynote paper, while Chattogram City Corporation Administrator Dr Shahadat Hossain attended as the chief guest.

Amirul Haque said international seaports generally require a draft of 18 to 20 metres, and the port under construction at Matarbari is being developed with nearly that level of draft. The Bay Terminal will also have a draft of more than 11 metres.

If the existing Chattogram port, Matarbari port and the Bay Terminal are used in a coordinated manner, they will be able to serve different types of vessels, he said.

Haque said using Chattogram for cargo transportation could significantly reduce costs and travel distances for landlocked countries such as Nepal. Transporting goods through Chattogram would require covering around 1,200 kilometres, compared with nearly 2,000 kilometres if other ports were used.

He stressed the need to provide port and logistics services to India's northeastern states, known as the Seven Sisters, as well as Nepal and parts of Myanmar.

Haque said Chattogram's economic capacity could be further strengthened by integrating innovation, logistics and manufacturing industries.

He also called for greater use of waterways to transport goods from Matarbari instead of relying on roads, saying it would help reduce transportation costs and improve efficiency.

The absence of guaranteed utility services had created difficulties in attracting investment, he said, adding that trade bodies had been raising concerns about the issue from the outset.

Haque also called for the development of five motorways across the country and improvements to railway and waterway networks. He said infrastructure projects should be assessed in terms of their long-term economic contributions before implementation.

Call for cluster-based regional development and revival of SAARC

Another speaker, CBFTU Vice-Chancellor Professor Dr Obaidul Karim, stressed the need for cluster-based economic development among neighbouring countries, saying no country could achieve sustainable development in isolation.

Citing the economic development of Germany, Norway, Sweden, the United Kingdom and France, he said neighbouring countries had developed strong economies through regional cooperation.

Karim said the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) had once created prospects for regional economic development, but the organisation was no longer playing an effective role.

The region's economic potential could not be fully realised through bilateral relations or isolated trade initiatives alone, he said, calling for efforts to reactivate SAARC.

He said India's development was important for Bangladesh, just as Bangladesh's development was important for India. The same approach should be extended to Nepal and Pakistan, he added.

No country could achieve sustainable economic progress by excluding its neighbours, he said.

Karim also highlighted Chattogram's tourism and cultural potential, saying the city's natural beauty was no less impressive than that of Malaysia and Singapore.

Despite its potential, Chattogram had not been developed into an international tourist destination or an eco-tourism hub, he said.

He noted that while the chamber worked on port and economic activities, the city's cultural and tourism potential also needed attention.

The city's traditional sampans, river-based lifestyle, mezban and Jabbarer Boli Khela were part of its distinctive heritage and should be promoted internationally, he said.

Centralisation undermining Chattogram's development

Ekushey Padak-winning journalist and editor of The Daily Azadi, Chattogram, M. A. Malek highlighted the mismatch between Chattogram's economic importance and its administrative and institutional authority.

He said a city hosting the country's principal seaport should also have adequate decision-making powers and administrative facilities for important national institutions.

However, many significant functions had gradually been shifted from Chattogram to Dhaka, he said.

With modern communication technology allowing institutions to connect instantly from anywhere in the country, there was no longer the same logistical barrier to keeping the headquarters of important institutions in Chattogram, Malek said.

Referring to the long-standing promise of making Chattogram the country's commercial capital, he said no bank or insurance company had its headquarters in the city.

Malek said many cities around the world had achieved international prominence through commercial activities, and Chattogram had the potential and capacity to do the same.

What was needed was long-term planning and a change in the outlook of policymakers, he said, expressing hope that Chattogram would become not only the lifeline of the national economy but also a model city in terms of quality of life.

Among others, CJA Secretary General Osman Gani Mansur, Dhaka Flash Editor in Chief Farid Hossain; National Press Club President Hasan Hafiz; Chattogram Development Authority (CDA) Chairman Engineer Belayet Hossain; International Business Forum, Chattogram President S. M. Abu Tayyab; Premier University Dean of Arts Professor Mohit Ul Alam; and public health specialist and clinical epidemiologist Professor Dr Pravat Chandra Barua attended the programme.

Journalists from four districts, researchers, planners, academics and other professionals also attended the event.