The Dhaka International Trade Fair (DITF) - 2018 will begin in Sher-e-Bangla Nagar of Dhaka on Monday.
Prime minister Sheikh Hasina will inaugurate the month-long fair at Banghabandhu International Conventional Centre (BICC) in the morning, reports UNB.
Commerce ministry and the export promotion bureau (EPB) will jointly organise the 23rd edition of the fair.
The fair will be organised on 1.25 million square feet area where one Bangabandhu pavilion, one trade information centre of EPB, 65 premium pavilions, 16 general pavilions, 23 foreign pavilions, six reserved pavilions, 29 general mini pavilions, 38 premier mini pavilions, five foreign mini pavilions, seven reserve mini pavilions, 72 premier stalls, 13 foreign premier stalls, 253 general stalls, 31 food stalls, 20 reserved stalls for female, three restaurants and three centres for mother and children servicing will be set up.
Apart from the business stalls, amusement park for children, mother and child centre, separate booths and security service rooms for male and female, fire service station, blood donation centre, complaint centre of the consumer rights protection, power grid sub-station, generation station and space for car parking will be arranged inside the fair compound.
The main gate of the fair will be decorated like the shape of Padma Bridge, aiming to showcase the country’s achievement, commerce minister Tofael Ahmad told to newsmen at the temporary secretariat of the fair.
Entry fee has been fixed at Tk 30 for adults and Tk 20 for children. The fair will remain open from 10:00am and 10:00pm every day, the minister added.
Forty three business entities from 17 countries will participate in the fair.
President Abdul Hamid and prime minister Sheikh Hasina have issued separate messages on this occasion.
In his message, the president said, “In addition to displaying products, the fair also plays an important role in building effective relations between domestic and foreign producers, buyer-seller, exporter-importer and investors.”
He hoped that the DITF will be able to bring efficacy to the local economy through the diversification of products, market expansion and export growth.
In her message, the prime minister said, “It [the fair] will facilitate local and overseas consumers to get a first hand familiarity with various new commodities produced locally.”
“It will also enable local entrepreneurs to have idea about the foreign products and their styles, colours and the standard, choice and demands of foreign buyers,” the message added.