Work on garment industrial park will start this summer on a new 492 acre which will provide a home for 300 factories and generate around US $3 billion annually in export revenues, said the Bangladesh garment manufacturers and export association.

The BGMEA claims the park will place an emphasis on sustainability, including connecting factories located at the park with a modern Central Effluent Treatment Plant (CETP) for the disposal of industrial liquid and sewerage water.

Significantly, priority relocation to the park will be offered to owners of factories which are found to be non-compliant with assessments which have been carried out by the Bangladesh Accord on Fire and Building Safety and Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety.

Depending on the success of the initiative, which is backed by major Chinese investor Orion Holding Tang Xiaoji, there are hopes that it can be replicated in Chittagong and other parts of the country as part of moves which the BGMEA claims will help transform Bangladesh into the highest fully compliant garment exporter in the world.

Knit, woven, dyeing, sweater and accessories factories will be set up at the new park, which is located on the Dhaka-Chittagong highway adjacent to the Meghna River.

Ehsan Ul Fattah, Secretary General BGMEA, said that this will be the first compliant industrial park in Bangladesh. The lead time will be significantly reduced and goods will reach Chittagong port directly through the river way.

The park will be established on an Export processing zone (EPZ) style model, a specific type of ETZ usually set up in developing countries to promote industrial and commercial exports.

Around 1.2 million workers have reportedly been trained through the Alliance's basic fire safety training programme. The Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety, whose brand members include Walmart, VF Corporation, Gap Inc., and Fruit of the Loom.