The 26th Chittagong International Trade Fair organised by the Chittagong Chamber of Commerce and Industry begins Saturday in the port city.
The month-long trade fair will be participated by Thailand as a partner country and India, Iran and
Mauritius with huge display of their products in giant pavilions.
Shipping Minister Shajahan Khan will inaugurate the CITF as the chief
guest at the Bangabandhu Conference Hall of the World Trade Center at Agrabad in the city, while State Minister for Land
Saifuzzaman Chowdhury Zaved, Chittagong City Mayor AJM Nasir Uddin,
Member of the Parliamentary Standing Committees for Power, Energy and
Mineral Resources, Shipping and Chittagong Hill Tracts Affairs Ministry MA Latif and FBCCI First Vice President Sheikh Fazle Fahim will address the event as the special guests.
CCCI President Mahbubul Alam, also advisor of the CITF Committee and Co-chairman of the CITF, and Vice President of the CCCI Syed Jamal Ahmed briefed the media about their preparation for holding the fair and the objectives behind arranging such a big event.
Mr Alam said that the fair is aimed at popularising and marketing the products made by the country's small, medium and big industries to the buyers from home and abroad.
The Chittagong chamber plays an important role in framing the policy guidelines of national economy through suggestions emanating from its long working experience as a premier trade body, he said, adding that the trade body is also a pioneer in having the country's first ever World Trade Centre.
Chittagong Chamber is also going to be the pioneer in launching a special economic and industrial zone of its own in line with the economic and industrial zones being built by the state-run Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority (BEZA) throughout the country in the public sector.
"We are going to construct a special economic and industrial zone on an area of 100 acres of land on the south bank of the Karnaphuli River overlooking the Chittagong Port jetties," he said.
The chamber is also tentatively implementing the project with the progress of the construction of the much-expected tunnel under the river already in the process of implementation by the Roads and Highways Department of the government," he added.
Mr Alam said the zone prepared by the CCCI would provide industries and factories owned by the CCCI members and those from the small and medium enterprises from the region, which have hardly any chance of getting plots in the major government zones.
As soon as the connectivity projects are accomplished, the chamber will jump into the industrial zone construction and for that it will seek land from the government at a suitable area on the south of the Karnaphuli, he said.
He said that there are offers from global chain hotels such as Hayat and La Meridian for opening five-star hotels at the WTC in joint venture with the CCCI.
But the CCCI is not ready to enter any joint venture business for multiple reasons.
"We want to lease it out to the interested local and global parties," he said.
Syed Jamal Ahmed said the CITF had been arranged on some 04 million square feet area on the Polo Ground with over 450 stalls, pavilions and mega pavilions displaying almost all local products plus those from the participating countries.
Industrial conglomerates and multinational companies have taken part in the fair and will offer discounts during the fair that draws substantial buyers and enthusiasts from remote corners of the country, especially from the villages of Greater Chittagong districts.
Ambassadors and High Commissioners of different countries stationed in Bangladesh visit the fair every year.
Privately-owned United Commercial Bank will set up its booth at the CITF compound to facilitate transactions.
Security measures have been taken with month-long deployment of the police and the RAB.
Directors of CCCI MA Motaleb, Mahbubul Huq Chowdhury Babar, Ahid Siraj Chowdhury Swapan, Anjan Shekhar Das, Kamal Mostafa Chowdhury and Omar Hazzaz were present at the press conference.
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