PM to launch BD-China Exhibition Centre on Oct 13

The much-awaited Bangladesh-China Friendship Exhibition Centre, dedicated to exhibit products to attract buyers, is set to open for expositions from October 13 through a formal inauguration.

“Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will officially inaugurate the Bangladesh-China Friendship Exhibition Centre on October 13,” Hafizur Rahman, additional secretary of the Ministry of Commerce said. He recently agreed to the Ministry of Commerce’s request in this regard.

The Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) is going to organise the 26th Dhaka International Trade Fair (DITF) at the centre located at Purbachal on the outskirts of the capital. The EPB has received the nod from the Commerce Ministry to hold the exposition.

Hafizur Rahman said, “The Commerce Ministry is planning to organise the DITF at the beginning of the next year. But it will depend on the Covid-19 situation. Hopefully, the situation will improve and the fair will be held at the new venue at the beginning of next year.”

EPB vice-chairman AHM Ahsan said they got approval from the commerce ministry to hold the 26th DITF next year and the next meeting of the bureau’s steering committee will devise the next course of action to hold the exposition.

He said that preparations for the fair were started last year but it came to halt for the Covid-19 situation. Applications for stall allotment were sought from the traders and before completion of the application process, the fair was postponed, he said.

“Still organising the fair depends on the Covid-19 situation. If the situation is good this time, all kinds of preparations will be made. It will be a big task to prepare for the work in advance,” he added.

The China State Construction Engineering Corporation (CSCEC) started construction works of the centre on October 17, 2017 spending Tk 796 crore and they handed it over to authorities on February 7 this year. The centre features more than 800 stalls on a 20-acre ground.

Ahsan said that engineers would prepare the layout plan of the fair after the steering committee meeting and stalls will be allocated according to that layout.

The Dhaka International Trade Fair has been organised 25 times since 1995 at Sher-e-Bangla Nagar in Dhaka.

The government took initiatives to shift the fair at Purbachal as it triggers severe traffic congestion in Sher-e-Bangla Nagar where key government offices are located.

The latest fair on the 32-acre ground at Sher-e-Bangla Nagar had 483 stalls.