ABSTRACT
This chapter reviews the evolution of SEZ policy and traces the dynamics and interactions between the economic and political regime and broader development policies facing the country.
The study finds that Bangladesh has been most consistent in her approach towards SEZs in the region. The political regime change did not affect the SEZ policy in the country. Since the early 1980s, one of the defining features of the process of industrialisation has been its export processing zones, which became instrumental in integrating the country into the GVCs of readymade garments (RMGs). After successful integration into the GVCs of readymade garments using EPZs as the platform, the country has launched a new hybrid variety of SEZs to drive countrywide industrialisation. Economic zones (EZs), as they are officially named, are placed at the core of sustainable economic development with ambitious targets and to achieve these targets, the government has taken the initiative to establish 100 EZs across the country, changing the landscape of SEZs in the country. However, it is argued that the target of setting 100 EZs is overly ambitious
