BIDA Launches Nationwide Survey to Map Investment Barriers Across All 64 Districts of Bangladesh

Chattogram, August 19, 2026 — The Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA) is working to create a reliable database to assess the country's actual investment and industrialisation scenario while identifying and addressing the barriers faced by investors. The initiative will identify administrative complications, policy inconsistencies, infrastructure constraints, and other obstacles to investment and recommend measures to remove them. The information was disclosed at a divisional workshop on the “Industrial Survey of Bangladesh” held at Hotel Agrabad in Chattogram.

📊 The Survey Initiative

The ADB-backed initiative will create a unified investor database while identifying district-specific investment opportunities and barriers. The workshop was jointly organised by BIDA, the Asian Development Bank (ADB), and the South Asian Network on Economic Modeling (SANEM). Government officials from different districts of Chattogram division, businesspeople, investors, academics, researchers, and chamber representatives attended the workshop which was followed by an open discussion.

🚧 The Data Problem

Speaking at the workshop, SANEM Executive Director and University of Dhaka Economics Professor Dr Selim Raihan said the lack of accurate, reliable, and updated data is one of the major problems facing investment in Bangladesh. Key issues identified:

• 📜 Scattered data — BIDA, BEZA, PPP Authority, Hi-Tech Park authorities, and chambers all have investor data but it is not unified
• 📜 Outdated information — much of the existing data is not current
• 📜 Duplicate records — multiple registrations of the same investor with different organisations
• 📜 Policy inconsistencies — administrative complications creating barriers
• 📜 Infrastructure constraints — physical barriers to investment

“Whenever policymakers need to know the actual investment scenario in Bangladesh at a particular point in time, they face difficulties in obtaining accurate and updated information,” Raihan said.

🔄 Unified Database Solution

To address the problem, work is underway to combine all scattered investor data into a single unified database. The survey will cover all 64 districts of Bangladesh — mapping:

• 📍 District-specific investment opportunities — identifying local industrial potential
• 🚧 Investment barriers — administrative, policy, infrastructure obstacles
• 🏭 Industrialisation scenario — actual vs reported investment data
• 📊 Investor database — unified record of all registered investors
• 💼 Policy recommendations — measures to remove identified barriers

🏛️ Institutional Collaboration

The survey represents a significant institutional collaboration:

• 🏢 BIDA — lead government agency for investment promotion
• 🌏 ADB — providing technical and financial support
• 📊 SANEM — economic modeling and research expertise
• 🏢 BEZA — economic zones authority data integration
• 🏢 PPP Authority — public-private partnership investment data
• 🏢 Hi-Tech Park authorities — technology park investment data
• 🏢 Chambers of commerce — private sector investment information

🌐 Strategic Context: Investment Climate and LDC Graduation

The BIDA survey comes at a critical moment for Bangladesh's investment climate. With LDC graduation scheduled for November 2026, the country urgently needs to attract and retain both domestic and foreign investment to sustain growth. The survey addresses several structural challenges:

• 📊 Data-driven policy — evidence-based investment promotion rather than anecdotal
• 👥 Investor confidence — accurate data builds trust in the investment environment
• 🏭 Targeted promotion — district-specific opportunities enable focused investment attraction
• 🚧 Barrier removal — systematic identification of obstacles enables targeted reform
• 💰 FDI attraction — reliable data supports international investor outreach

The initiative also aligns with the government's broader reform agenda — including the proposed Invest Bangladesh Authority (merging BIDA, BEZA, and PPPA), the GED's five-year transformation plan, and the ongoing economic stabilisation programme. By creating a unified, reliable, and current investment database, BIDA can provide policymakers with the information needed to make informed decisions about where to allocate resources, which barriers to prioritise, and how to position Bangladesh competitively in the global investment landscape as the country transitions out of LDC status.

For the export economy, the survey's findings could help identify opportunities for backward linkage investment — attracting capital into the textile, pharmaceutical, and agro-processing supply chains that support Bangladesh's export sectors. By mapping investment barriers at the district level, the government can also identify where infrastructure gaps are constraining export-oriented industrial development — enabling targeted public investment in roads, utilities, and logistics that directly supports export competitiveness.

The divisional workshop format — bringing together government officials, businesspeople, investors, academics, researchers, and chamber representatives — ensures that the survey captures perspectives from all stakeholders in the investment ecosystem. This multi-stakeholder approach is critical because investment barriers often exist at the intersection of multiple institutional jurisdictions — where central government policy, local government implementation, utility provision, and regulatory enforcement all interact. Only by engaging all stakeholders can BIDA build a comprehensive picture of the actual investment experience on the ground.

The Chattogram division workshop is likely the first of several regional workshops that will be conducted across Bangladesh's eight divisions — each focusing on the specific investment characteristics, opportunities, and barriers relevant to that region. Chattogram was a strategic starting point given its role as Bangladesh's principal port city and industrial hub — where investment barriers in logistics, customs, port operations, and industrial zone development have direct implications for the entire export economy.