A paved road runs from Barotakia in Chattogram’s Mirsharai upazila toward the estuary of the Feni River. A few kilometres down that road begins the National Special Economic Zone.
It is the largest economic zone in Bangladesh, covering 33,805 acres. While some factories have already begun operations there, a visit on 3 June revealed that a large section of the economic zone has instead become a forest.
Discussions with the Forest Department, the Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority (BEZA), and local residents revealed that a vast number of trees had been felled to establish the economic zone. However, industrial development has yet to begin on many of those plots. New forests have emerged from tree stumps left behind and from seeds dispersed across the area.
According to the Forest Department, some 4,104 acres on the western edge of the economic zone remain completely unused. Species such as gewa, keora and hargoza have regenerated there. The area now provides habitat for deer, snakes and other wildlife and serves as a sanctuary for rare marine and water birds.
The Forest Department is now seeking the return of the unused land. Correspondence between government agencies is ongoing.
More than a decade has passed since the project began, and progress has fallen short of expectations. Many investors that acquired land have left it undeveloped. In the meantime, vegetation has reclaimed large portions of the area.
In a letter sent to the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change on 11 January, Chief Conservator of Forests Md Amir Hossain Chowdhury wrote that the forest covering 4,104 acres would help absorb carbon emissions generated by industries in the economic zone. He also noted that the forest would act as a natural shield against storm surges and cyclones along the coast.
Status of the economic zone
Under the Awami League government that was ousted in the July mass uprising, Bangladesh set a target of establishing 100 economic zones. Work has progressed on five government and joint-venture zones.
The largest of them is now called the National Special Economic Zone, a name adopted under the interim government. Previously, it was known as the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Industrial City.
According to information published on BEZA’s website, around 17,500 acres of the total 33,805-acre area are designated for factories, ports and commercial facilities. Nearly 6,000 acres will remain as open space, while about 1,800 acres are alloted for afforestation and related activities. The remainder will be used for roads, residential facilities, healthcare, educational institutions and other infrastructure.
BEZA says that 4,800 acres have already been allocated to 142 investor companies. Of those, factories are currently being developed on about 600 acres.
The government hopes the economic zone will create employment for 1.5 million people and generate US$15 billion in annual exports.
However, more than a decade has passed since the project began, and progress has fallen short of expectations. Many investors that acquired land have left it undeveloped. In the meantime, vegetation has reclaimed large portions of the area.
The National Special Economic Zone covers 133.55 square kilometres—nearly half the size of Dhaka. The combined area of Dhaka’s two city corporations is about 305 square kilometres, making it difficult to survey the entire economic zone.
From the zone’s zero point at Barotakia in Mirsharai, travelling 21 kilometres south along the Water Development Board’s super dyke leads to Domkhali Canal, which marks the southern boundary of the economic zone. On one side of the embankment lies the Bay of Bengal; on the other, a forest has emerged.
No deer were visible during the daytime visit, but various coastal birds, including egrets, were seen flying overhead.
Md Shahanshah Nawshad, deputy range officer of the Mirsharai Range under the Chattogram Coastal Forest Division, told Prothom Alo, “More deer are seen after sunset. Based on our observations, there may be between 400 and 500 deer in the area.”
I visited the area about six or seven months ago. A forest resembling the Sundarbans has developed there. Local people told me that animals such as deer and pythons can be seen in the area.
Local residents say deer are occasionally hunted there. In April, a video showing the capture and killing of a deer circulated on social media. The Forest Department later filed a case against three individuals over the incident.
Land transferred to BEZA
BEZA claims that about 28 per cent of the land within the National Special Economic Zone was fallow, 32 per cent was covered with mangroves and vegetation, and nearly 9 per cent consisted of canals and water bodies. The rest fell into various other land categories.
The Forest Department, however, says that in 2012 some 22,335 acres within the project area were undergoing the process of being declared reserved forest. A proposal to that effect had already been submitted to the then Ministry of Environment and Forests. The land was later handed over to BEZA by the Chattogram deputy commissioner.
Profesor Md Kamal Hossain of the Institute of Forestry and Environmental Sciences at the University of Chittagong told Prothom Alo that Chattogram’s coast was once completely exposed to storms and tidal surges. To protect coastal settlements, the Forest Department established this forest, starting from Baga Chattar in Sitakunda, and it later expanded, he said.
“I visited the area about six or seven months ago. A forest resembling the Sundarbans has developed there. Local people told me that animals such as deer and pythons can be seen in the area,” he added.
After the fall of the Awami League government on 5 August 2024, the Forest Department began seeking the return of part of the land allocated to the economic zone.
In November that year, Forest Department officials prepared a report on the condition of the land.
We received a proposal from the ministry last year. After completing the necessary verification, we will send the land schedule.
The report said that of the 22,335 acres previously proposed for reserved forest status, BEZA had built infrastructure on 18,235 acres. Vegetation remains on 4,104 acres.
According to the report, around 1.35 million trees were cut on land allocated by BEZA. The value of those trees was estimated at nearly Tk 140 million. About Tk 90 million has been paid, while roughly Tk 50 million remains outstanding.
Based on that report, the Forest Department formally requested the return of the 4,104 acres.
After receiving the request, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change wrote to the Chattogram district administration on 3 February seeking detailed land records.
Sakhawat Jamil Soikat, additional deputy commissioner (revenue) of Chattogram, told Prothom Alo, “We received a proposal from the ministry last year. After completing the necessary verification, we will send the land schedule.”
Sources at the ministry said that once the records are received, the ministry may ask the Ministry of Land to return the land. The government will then decide whether the request will be approved.
Nazrul Islam, BEZA member for planning and development, said, “I recently visited the Mirsharai economic zone. Forest has indeed grown in areas where no infrastructure has yet been built.”
He added that BEZA and the Forest Department could work together on the issue. “If we sit together, we should be able to find a solution.”
Is returning the land the answer?
During the Awami League government’s tenure, plans were launched for the Sonadia Ecotourism Park on Sonadia Island in Cox’s Bazar and the Naf Tourism Park on Jalia Island at the mouth of the Naf River in Teknaf.
At the time, Jalia Island was largely under the control of influential local groups, while mangrove forests on Sonadia Island were being cleared for shrimp farming and salt cultivation.
BEZA had promised that tourism would be developed while ensuring environmental and biodiversity protection. Tree planting had also begun on Sonadia under BEZA’s initiative.
On 15 April 2025, under the interim government, BEZA’s governing body cancelled 10 economic zones approved during the Awami League administration, including the Sonadia Ecotourism Park.
The following month, the government returned 9,467 acres on Sonadia Island to the Forest Department.
Yet salt production and shrimp farming have not stopped there. According to local residents, forest destruction has actually increased.
During a visit to Sonadia on 3 June, Prothom Alo correspondent Abdul Quddus observed ongoing salt production. Shrimp cultivation is expected to begin after the salt season ends.
Salt farmer Abdul Gani told Prothom Alo that he and several partners had cultivated salt on 30 kani of land. They paid a total of Tk 1.2 million in seasonal “lease” fees to local occupiers at a rate of Tk 40,000 per kani (40 decimals). After expenses, they have earned nearly Tk 1.3 million in profit from salt sales so far.
Local sources say shrimp and salt production on Sonadia is now controlled by local leaders and activists of the BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami. Previously, it was controlled by Awami League leaders and activists.
Sonadia produces shrimp and salt worth millions of taka each year. Environmentalists allege that some members of the administration also benefit financially, making control over the forest an important issue.
They argue that while the Forest Department files occasional cases in the name of forest protection, enforcement is largely symbolic. Forest destruction continues, and examples of accountability remain rare.
Professor Kamal Hossain said the portion of land within the National Special Economic Zone sought by the Forest Department could be returned.
However, there must also be accountability regarding why the Forest Department has failed to protect forests in many cases, he said.
Bangladesh needs both forests and industry. Work should begin now to establish a green belt along the coast surrounding the National Special Economic Zone. New coastal chars have also emerged, and those areas could be brought under afforestation as well, he added.