Govt working like private sector to cut red tape, says finance minister

The government is operating “like the private sector, seven days a week” to clear red tape and achieve a $1 trillion economy by 2034, Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury said yesterday.

Highlighting the massive scale of regulatory reforms, the minister noted that his recent budget speech required four and a half pages just to list the deregulation measures being introduced.

Tap Here to Add The Daily Star As A Trusted Source

To prevent these changes from being stalled by bureaucratic bottlenecks, the government is taking direct enforcement actions, he said.

The minister made the comments while speaking as the chief guest at the formal inauguration of RSGT Bangladesh, held at the Sheraton Dhaka in Banani.

The Red Sea Gateway Terminal (RSGT) Bangladesh operates the Patenga Container Terminal at Chattogram port.

“I am constituting a task force to oversee the deregulation we have made, so nobody stands in the way,” the finance minister said.

“A website will be launched where anyone facing problems with the new deregulated framework can lodge a complaint, and we will take care of it. There will be no compromise.”

The entry of Saudi Arabia’s RSGT into Chattogram is seen as a vital step toward fixing the long-standing logistics issues that plague the local business community -- primarily vessel turnaround and delivery times, he said.

“Every hour and every day costs money in business,” the minister noted, stressing that port efficiency is the backbone of the country’s economic growth.

The goal is to establish Chattogram as the primary logistics hub not just for Bangladesh, but for the entire South Asian region, he said.

Reflecting on the historical relationship between Dhaka and Riyadh, the minister said the deepening Saudi-Bangladesh ties began with President Ziaur Rahman’s close relationship with the Saudi royal family.

The relationship expanded significantly under Begum Khaleda Zia, paving the way for over 4 million Bangladeshi expatriates currently working in Saudi Arabia.

The minister welcomed RSGT’s presence as a natural continuation of this historic bond and urged the Saudi firm to look beyond the port sector for future investments, promising the government’s full support.

Aamer Abdullah Zainal Alireza, executive chairman of RSGT, and Erwin Haaze, CEO of RSGT Bangladesh, also spoke at the event.