Policy being drafted to revive dormant government institutions
Representational image. BSS file photo.
Invest Bangladesh has drafted a policy to increase domestic and foreign investment and ensure the maximum use of idle government assets.
Under the Invest Bangladesh Act, 2026, this policy creates detailed opportunities to lease idle and unused government assets to the private sector, sell them strategically, or operate them on a partnership basis.
Invest Bangladesh said this in a press release today, Thursday. It said the main objective of the proposed policy is to bring idle government industrial or commercial institutions, along with their unused land and structures, under new investment and thereby energize commercial and economic activities. The government hopes that this will make it possible to attract a huge amount of domestic and foreign investment, which will play a major role in bringing modern technology, modern management capacity, and new employment to the country. At the same time, provisions have been made to ensure proper management of government assets, receipt of fair value, and environmental safety.
According to the policy, in order to keep the entire asset transfer process transparent and procedural, an “Investment Transaction Coordination and Monitoring Committee” will be formed under the leadership of the chairman of the Invest Bangladesh Authority. This committee will oversee and coordinate the overall transactions. However, the committee itself will not grant final approval; rather, it will recommend the highest-evaluated qualified bidder through an open tender for government approval.
In selecting investors, a one-stage or two-stage open tender method will be followed depending on the type of transaction. To find qualified investors, notices will be published in national dailies, on the official website, and in international media. In addition, if an investor submits an unsolicited investment proposal on their own initiative in advance, they will receive an additional 7 percent marks or score in the evaluation, but they too must come through the competitive tender process.
Strict rules have been included in the policy to protect the interests of workers and employees. To settle the arrears of salaries, pensions, gratuities, and other legal dues of the officers and workers of an institution coming under transfer, an audited employee liability statement must be published before the final tender is called.
On the other hand, the money received from the transfer or sale of these properties will be deposited in a special bank account of the Invest Bangladesh Authority before going directly to the government treasury. From there, all previous liabilities and dues of the relevant institution will first be paid, and the remaining money will be deposited in the government’s consolidated fund.
To maintain transparency in investment implementation, submitting a progress report every six months after the contract has been made mandatory. If any investor violates the terms of the contract or fails in the specified activities, the government or the authority may cancel the contract with prior notice and repossess the asset.
Economic analysts believe that if the draft policy is finalized and implemented, the waste of unused government property will be prevented, and the country’s industrial sector will be revived through new investment in a transparent process.
If there are any new opinions, observations, or recommendations, they must be typed in Bengali in the prescribed format in Nikash font. Both a signed scanned copy and an editable Word file must be emailed to [email protected] by September 17, with “Comments on Strategic_Divestiture Policy” written in the subject line of the email.
By integrating the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA), the Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority (BEZA), and the PPP Authority, “Invest Bangladesh” began its journey on August 23 under the Prime Minister’s Office.
