Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday (March 22, 2023) stressed the need for preparing a roadmap aimed at making Bangladesh an aviation hub in the region. “Reaping on the dividend of our geo-strategic advantage, we should create a roadmap as to how we can make our country an aviation hub,” she said in a video statement aired in the inaugural session of the first edition of Aviation Summit in Dhaka. The Civil Aviation and Tourism Ministry, in collaboration with the UK and France, organised the Bangladesh Aviation Summit-2023 at a city hotel here. Read more: Working to ensure houses for all homeless people: PM Hasina Hasina said this summit is very significant for Bangladesh in the context of the South Asian nation’s aspiration to become an aviation hub in the region. She said just after achieving the membership of ICAO in 1973, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman undertook measures to turn Bangladesh into an ‘Aviation Hub’ to connect the East and the West, capitalizing the advantage of our geographical location. After the assassination of the Father of the Nation in 1975, the move came to a halt, she added. “We have undertaken several measures to support the development of an aviation hub. During the last one decade, we implemented a host of projects to upgrade our airports, airport security and ground handling,” said the prime minister. Read More: Bangladesh Monitor holds seminar to promote smart aviation Besides, a number of projects are running which include HSIA Expansion Project (Phase-I), Construction of General Aviation Hangar, Hangar Apron and Apron at North side of Fire Station at HSIA; Strengthening of Existing Runway and Taxiway at Shah Amanat International Airport, Chattogram; Development of Cox’s Bazar Airport (Phase-I), Cox’s Bazar Airport Runway Extension Project; Strengthening of Existing Runway and Taxiway at Osmani International Airport, Sylhet; and Enhancement of Capacity of Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh on Public Security at HSIA, she noted. The third terminal being constructed under HSIA Expansion Project (Phase-I), will create handling capacity of additional 12 million passengers and 4 million ton cargos, she said. “The transformation of our economy helped boost the travel opportunities for our people and open up new routes and markets for our airlines. When Bangladesh will turn into an Upper Middle Income Country by 2031 and a developed country by 2041, the aviation market will be further expanded,” she added. Read More: PM Hasina: Bangladesh to become aviation gateway between the east and the west PM Hasina said as the economy of Bangladesh has grown, so has the importance of air cargo. “The air cargo market of Bangladesh is rapidly growing at 8 percent per year – three times the world average. This underlines the strong demand for a dedicated national cargo operation in our country. With all of this in mind, there are areas where aviation actors need to do more,” she said. The PM asked relevant government organisations, the airlines and other stakeholders to carry out their responsibility to create conducive environment for the development and sustaining market both for passengers and cargo. Read More: Concerted efforts needed to solve aviation sector’s problems: Speakers “The government is going to introduce e-visa system which will also facilitate and expedite the flow of passengers visiting Bangladesh for business or tourism,” she said. Noting that the promising aviation industry requires skilled manpower, she said, “Our youth must have the opportunities to be trained to become pilots, aeronautics engineers, mechanics, crew members and much more.” She hoped that Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Aviation and Aerospace University, established by her government, would be able to cater the demand of skilled manpower in the country’s aviation and aerospace industry. Read More: Bangladesh, France keen to build partnership in aviation, space, aerospace technology She said the aviation industry has to lead by example in tackling climate change and strive to meet SDGs. De-carbonation and sustainable aviation fuel are topics which will require investments, concrete actions and the support from developed aviation nations. “The aviation partnership proposed by the UK and France, through Airbus, to support us in our journey is very crucial,” said the PM. Prime Minister’s Private Industries and Investment Advisor Salman F Rahman and State Minister for Civil Aviation and Tourism Md. Mahbub Ali were also present at the summit. Read More: Police aviation wing taking shape: Four ASPs complete basic course to be pilots.

Economist Dr Debapriya Bhattacharya on Thursday called for a roadmap for debt repayment of the top mega projects which will be started between 2024 and 2026. “A major shock is coming to the economy between 2024 and 2026 in terms of debt repayments for mega projects that cause concern for the economy. A plan is needed to deal with this situation,” he suggested. Dr Debapriya, a special fellow of the Center for Policy Dialogue (CPD), a private think tank, spoke to reporters about 20 mega projects in the country in a virtual conversation on Thursday. Also read: Mega projects won’t affect the economy: PM He also said currently the ratio of foreign debt to gross domestic product (GDP) is 1.1 per cent which may be doubled by 2026. In response to the question of whether Bangladesh will be in trouble or not, he said, it will actually depend on how the country's reserve situation is at that time, and how well the economy remains. Debapriya also said that Russia, China, and Japan will have to pay more for big projects. Among them, China's debt repayment period is quite short. Also read: Huge amount of money being siphoned abroad from mega projects: BNP He analyzed 20 mega projects, including Padma Bridge, Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant, tunnel under Karnaphuli River, Matarbari coal-based power plant, metro rail, rail connection of Padma Bridge and others. About Tk5.57 lakh crore is being spent on these projects. About 62 per cent of this is foreign debt. Debapriya also said that since 2009 there is a kind of national consensus on taking up big projects. Politicians show interest in it as visible development can be seen if big projects are implemented, he said. Even though 20 projects are scheduled to be completed by 2028, Debapriya said that it will not be possible to complete all of them in the current decade. He also pointed out that there is a lack of transparency and accountability in project implementation.

Having adopted the Consolidated Strategy on the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) at the 38th ASEAN Summit in October last year, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) organised a socialisation webinar for the strategy themed "Embracing the 4IR: Outlook, Strategies, and Plans for ASEAN." The strategy, as revealed at the webinar, was built upon the existing 73 4IR-related initiatives undertaken by ASEAN so far, which is likely to increase in number in the coming years. Advanced technology provider Huawei again expressed its commitment to support ASEAN 4IR agenda. The webinar was attended by Satvinder Singh, deputy secretary-general of the ASEAN Economic Community, and Australian Ambassador to ASEAN Will Nankervis. "Although ASEAN, in general, has recorded a fantastic growth rate, there are still many aspects that need to be improved," said Satvinder. "One of them is artificial intelligence (AI) investment, which is still far below compared to AI investments made in countries such as the US and China ($2 per capita in ASEAN as opposed to $155 and $21 per capita between 2015 and 2019 for the US and China respectively)." READ: Brand Finance Global 500 index: Huawei becomes 9th most valuable brand He also mentioned that a holistic approach allows the 4IR to not only be used as an engine for the region's economic growth and competitiveness but also to promote inclusivity and sustainability. Diverse ASEAN stakeholders, such as Dicky Edwin Hindarto, advisor for Indonesia Joint Crediting Mechanism; Sharlini Eriza Putri, co-founder and CEO of Nusantics; Amarti Charoephan, ASEAN director for Techstars Thailand/Impact Collective; Dr Le Hoang Dung, the chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Teacher Education Network; and David Lu, president of Strategy Marketing Department at Huawei Asia Pacific, were also present. Sharlini said: "Startup companies have a much faster pace, as well as the ability to disrupt conventional methods. ASEAN youth must take part in narrating the 4IR, especially around critical issues such as health and environment. So, homegrown startups in ASEAN must be fully supported." David said, "Huawei wants to add to our collaboration footprint in the region to create an interconnected ASEAN and bridge the digital divide. We will work closely with the ASEAN Economic Community to provide the technology, infrastructure, and digital talent it needs." "Together, we will bring benefits such as reliability, lower latency, more effective and efficient production, and digital transformation to every industry."

The government is preparing a roadmap to boost rice production within two years to meet the increasing demand, said Agriculture Minister Muhammad Abdur Razzaque on Thursday. “This year aus, aman and boro paddy production reached record and government stock is at its highest yet price of rice has remained out of control,” he told journalists at the Secretariat after attending a meeting on increasing cultivation of inbred and super hybrid varieties of paddy to enhance production. He said production has to be accelerated by cultivating very high-yielding inbred and super hybrid varieties to make the grain affordable to low-income people.  Also read: Rice price is increasing beyond control despite having highest stock: Razzaque   The minister said agricultural land is on decline and to increase production the newly invented high-yielding varieties will need to be taken to the field immediately. The government has taken time-bound specific plans to increase aus, aman and boro rice production in the next season and expand their production in hill, haor and adverse areas, said Razzaque. Newly innovated BRRI 89 and BRRI 92 boro varieties can yield around one maund of rice cultivated in a decimal. To take it to fields immediately, a list will be prepared of the farmers who will produce these two varieties and their rice will be purchased as seed at higher prices than the market, he said. To encourage the farmers, seeds of these varieties will be provided free of cost and fertiliser at subsidised rates, he added.  The minister urged Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) and the Department of Agricultural Extension to create a more reliable statistic on rice demand, production and productivity to remove discrepancy for taking the right decision.    The minister said rice prices in the country are currently rising and unstable as in the global market the prices of food grains have increased. Also read: OMS: Rice to be available at Tk 30 per kg from Thursday Wheat prices which were between $230 to $280 per tonne has now increased to around $450, he said.  “Around 48 lakh tonnes of wheat were imported in the 2020-21 fiscal year but only 16 lakh tonnes were imported until January this fiscal year for its high prices”, he said.  “There are currently 10 lakh Rohingya citizens in the country and every year 22 to 24 lakh new population get added so demand and consumption is on rise hence the rice price is a bit high but there is no food crisis in the country”, said Razzaque.

As the Covid infection rate continues to fall, health experts advised the government to immediately take adequate preparations along with a roadmap to reopen the educational institutions in Bangladesh gradually. They think the government should first reopen the universities and then colleges, high schools and primary ones within the next month by bringing teachers and eligible students under the vaccine coverage on a priority basis. Read Closure of schools, colleges extended again until Sep 11 They also called for preparing national Covid prevention and control guidelines based on health sciences to ensure academic activities in the educational institutions with safety even if the virus transmission goes up further.  The government shut the educational institutions on March 17, 2020 after the country had reported its first Covid-19 cases on March 8. Then the closure was extended several times. The latest extension was supposed to continue till August 31. Also read: General holidays extended till May 30 But the government on Thursday extended the closure of secondary and higher secondary-level educational institutions until September 11. On Tuesday, Education Minister Dr Dipu Moni said educational institutions in the country will be reopened soon if the coronavirus infection rate continues to decline. Roadmap Talking to UNB, public health expert MH Chowdhury (Lenin), chairman of the medicine department at the Health and Hope Hospital, said the government needs to prepare a roadmap quickly before reopening the educational institutions based on health sciences. Read Protest 'classes' start Thursday at JU