Bangladesh is toying with the idea of setting up garment villages in Chittagong. Another plan is to build a six-lane expressway between Dhaka and Chittagong. Offers have come from some countries to build that on the build, operate and transfer model. It’s hoped that once this is done a good number of satellite cities will grow up around the expressway. Chittagong is the principal seaport of Bangladesh. It handles about 92 percent of the import-export trade of the country.

However, problems need to be looked into. At one time Chittagong-based garment entrepreneurs' contribution to the national economy was 40 per cent. It has come down to 11 per cent now. Port efficiency is another major obstacle. Urban chaos is intensifying through disjointed infrastructure initiatives unlinked to needs on the ground. Another problem facing the port city is gas shortage that has plagued it for 15 years.

The bright spot is that the port has been able to show a marked improvement in handling containers and optimising the utilisation of berths and yards. Bangladesh has a target of reaching $50 billion in readymade garment exports by 2021. For this the country needs to achieve an annual growth rate of eight per cent.