Stress on improving logistics efficiency and quality for economic growth

Higher logistics costs, poor infrastructure, a lack of an investment-friendly environment, state-of-the-art technology, and inadequate financing are hurting the development of the logistics sector, thus affecting the country’s economic growth.

Keeping this view in mind, stakeholders and experts at an event called for improving logistics efficiency and quality, improving the logistics infrastructure, and improving regional connectivity while formulating the National Logistics Industry Development Policy to develop a balanced multimodal transport system.

Their views and call were made at a closing day of the two-day workshop titled ‘Formulation of National Logistics Industry Development Policy for Bangladesh: Experience from Global Good Practices’ at a city hotel on Thursday.

The workshop was organised jointly by the Ministry of Industries (MoI), Business Initiative Leading Development (BUILD), and the World Bank Group (WBG).

The workshop aimed to present good global practises in formulating the proposed National Logistics Industry Development Policy and gather expert opinions from national and international sectoral specialists, stakeholders, public sector representatives, and development partners.

In the first session of the closing day titled "Balancing Multimodal Transport System for Logistics Competitiveness" two keynotes were presented by A B M Amin Ullah Nuri, secretary of Road Transport and Highways Division, and Martha B Lawrence, global lead of the Regional Connectivity and Logistics Knowledge Group at the World Bank while Md. Mostafa Kamal, Secretary of the Ministry of Shipping graced the session as chair.

The secretary of RTHD informed that initiatives need to be taken to update and implement the National Integrated Multimodal Transport Policy 2013 by portraying dedicated development strategies for different modes of transportation.

"The government has undertaken a number of megaprojects, citing logistics improvement as one of its top priorities. But, without the full automation of the Customs and NBR procedure, all the initiatives will go into vain. Harmonised coordination among public, private, and development partners is the single key to elevating the multimodal logistics management system to a global level," said Md Mostafa Kamal, Secretary of Shipping.

The government of India has invested 990 billion rupees through the Sagarmala PPD Model Project to ensure port-led economic growth by considering their potential coastal areas, informed by Abul Kasem Khan, co-chair of LIDWC, BUILD.

Policymakers should consider the global good practices and strategies of India, China, Singapore, Hong Kong, etc. to design the nation’s logistics policy and strategy, Abul Kasem said.

Khan emphasised the importance of ensuring necessary policy reforms by removing regulatory bottlenecks in order to attract much-needed domestic and foreign investment in the logistics sector.

 "National Committee for Formulating National Logistics Industry Development Policy" would be formed, where LIDWC would provide research assistance with the support of the World Bank Group, he added.

Md. Nurul Islam Sujan, minister of railways and chief guest at the workshop's closing session, stated that there is no alternative to ensuring transportation cost efficiency without a modern railway system.

Ongoing projects of the Ministry of Railways will connect Bangladesh to Trans-Asian Railway Network and that will lead to exploring new export markets with diversified products, Sujan said.

To make Bangladesh a multimodal logistics hub of the South Asian region, the Ministry of Railways will extend all possible assistance in a coordinated manner, as assured by the Railways Minister.

Chair of the closing session, Nihad Kabir, BUILD chairperson highly appreciated the initiatives of the Ministry of Railways for taking several policy reforms and projects to improve the freight and passenger transportation management system in Bangladesh.

Dr. Shomik Raj Mehndiratta, practise manager for transport in South Asia, informed us that the World Bank, as Bangladesh's development partner, has been assisting in the development of infrastructure such as rail, roads, waterways, bay terminals, land ports, and so on.

 Now it is high time to focus on the private sector’s demanded regulatory reforms to ensure sustainable development of the logistics scenario in Bangladesh, added.

Martin Holtmann, IFC country manager (Bangladesh, Bhutan, and Nepal), praised Bangladesh for improving its logistics environment in recent years by implementing policy reforms and infrastructure projects that will ultimately boost the nations' GDP and economic growth by lowering logistic costs.

 IFC will be glad to provide all sorts of assistance to formulate a national logistics industry development policy, he added.

BUILD will prepare and present the workshop's outcome report at the 4th meeting of the Logistics Infrastructure Development Working Committee at the Prime Minister's Office very soon, when all speakers from the two-day workshop will be invited to validate the placed recommendations and ways forward to formulate a visionary National Logistics Industry Development Policy of Bangladesh, addressed by Ferdaus Ara Begum, CEO of BUILD, as the wrap-up remarks.

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