Taxes and investment must be raised to overcome economic crisis: Finance minister

Finance and planning minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury has said that increasing tax revenue and boosting both domestic and foreign investment are the government’s foremost priorities in addressing the country’s economic challenges.

He stated that enhancing tax collection is essential to overcoming the current economic strain, alongside expanding investment from both local and international sources.

“These will be our key priorities going forward,” he said, adding that the forthcoming national budget would also place particular emphasis on education, healthcare and employment generation.

The minister made the remarks on Friday afternoon while responding to journalists after inspecting land in Patenga designated for a proposed government hospital in Chattogram city.

Emphasising that employment cannot be generated without investment, Amir Khosru noted that job creation was a major pledge in the BNP’s electoral programme.

“That is why the government is placing strong emphasis on increasing both domestic and foreign investment. Employment generation will receive the highest priority in the upcoming budget too, and all necessary measures will be undertaken to that end,” he said.

The member of parliament for Chattogram-11 (Port and Patenga) further observed that the Patenga area has long lacked a major hospital, prompting sustained public demand for such a facility. In response, the government has initiated plans to establish a large general hospital equipped with specialised services.

There are also proposals to set up a nursing institute and a separate institute for technologists alongside the hospital, he added.

Later in the afternoon, the minister visited land acquired by the Bangladesh Navy in the Muslimabad area adjacent to Marine Drive, at the west side of BNS Ulka Abad Area-2.

He subsequently inspected the 14.21 acres of land in Patenga earmarked for the construction of the proposed government hospital.