Prime Minister Tarique Rahman’s declaration that semiconductors could become Bangladesh’s next major economic growth engine is bold, timely and strategically important. He deserves recognition for prioritising a future-defining industry. The government’s early emphasis on incentives, bonded facilities and cooperation among industry, universities and expatriate experts is encouraging. The decisive test will be whether this vision becomes measurable targets, accountable institutions and disciplined execution.
The garment industry transformed Bangladesh, creating employment, expanding exports and establishing a major manufacturing base. Yet no nation can progress indefinitely by relying on one dominant sector. Automation, rising costs and geopolitical competition are reshaping production. Bangladesh must now build additional pillars of growth founded on knowledge, engineering and innovation.
Semiconductors deserve a central place in that transition. They underpin artificial intelligence, telecommunications, electric mobility, medical equipment, industrial automation and renewable energy. A meaningful position would deepen engineering capability, strengthen resilience and connect Bangladesh to strategic global value chains.
But ambition must begin with realism.
Bangladesh should not start by pursuing a leading-edge wafer-fabrication plant. Such facilities require extraordinary capital, dependable power, ultra-pure water, clean rooms, specialised chemicals, precision logistics and a deep technical ecosystem. A premature project could absorb scarce public resources without creating a competitive industry.
The credible entry points are chip design and verification, embedded systems, printed circuit boards, advanced electronics, component manufacturing, and outsourced semiconductor assembly and test, or OSAT. Power electronics also deserves attention because Bangladesh already has growing demand in solar energy, batteries, electric mobility, appliances, industrial equipment and grid management.
The strategic rule should be simple: build capability before building scale.
An indicative 15-year roadmap is required to set measurable stages, subject to investor consultation and technical assessment. During the first three years, Bangladesh should establish a national chip-design and prototyping centre with shared tools and international foundry access, train at least 1,000 engineers and technicians to benchmarked standards, secure two credible anchor-investor commitments and operationalise a specialised bonded regime.
During years four to seven, the country need to aim to establish at least one competitive OSAT facility, develop local PCB and component suppliers and create dependable export channels. Mature-node fabrication should be considered during years eight to fifteen only if an independent appraisal confirms demand, skills, utility reliability, supplier readiness and commercial viability.
Five principles may govern the roadmap.
Design internally. It means building Bangladeshi engineering talent, research capacity, product-development competence and locally created intellectual property. A country that only assembles imported technology may create jobs, but remains dependent on decisions controlled elsewhere.
Negotiate externally. It indicates using disciplined economic diplomacy to attract credible companies, universities, investors and technical partners. Foreign partnership should be welcomed, but public support must produce public value. Incentives should reward engineering responsibility, training, joint research, supplier development, exports and locally generated intellectual property.
Integrate globally. It means recognising that no country builds a semiconductor industry in isolation. Bangladesh must connect with foundries, design houses, packaging firms, equipment suppliers, universities and markets. The objective is not self-sufficiency, but a progressively more valuable position in the global semiconductor value chain.
Protect nationally. It is necessary to safeguard intellectual property, commercial data, digital infrastructure, sensitive technologies and critical supply chains. It also requires predictable contracts, credible dispute resolution and cybersecurity. Serious investors are unlikely to place proprietary processes where intellectual property and contractual rights cannot be reliably enforced.
Balance is power. It means avoiding both technological isolation and permanent dependence. Bangladesh should diversify partnerships, avoid excessive reliance on any single country or supplier, and balance domestic capability with foreign investment, public leadership with private enterprise, openness with security, and ambition with commercial realism.
Institutional design will determine whether these principles survive beyond speeches. The existing semiconductor taskforce should now evolve into a legally empowered National Semiconductor and Advanced Electronics Mission with genuine single-window authority over investment, education, customs, infrastructure, energy, finance, research and international cooperation. Its governing board should combine government, industry, academia and diaspora expertise.
Authority must be matched by accountability. The mission should publish an independently audited annual scorecard covering realised investment, operating companies, engineers trained, products designed, exports, suppliers developed and progress against deadlines. Success must be measured not by meetings or memoranda, but by capabilities acquired and commercial results achieved.
The first practical step should not be construction. It should be market validation.
Bangladesh should select two or three priority segments, consult credible international firms and secure anchor commitments before finalising infrastructure. Verified investor requirements for utilities, logistics, workforce and facilities should determine the first phase.
Buildings should serve an industry; the industry should not be invented to fill buildings.
A site of approximately 80–100 acres should be assessed, with Purbachal considered a leading option because of its proximity to Dhaka, Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport and urban services. No site should be predetermined. Selection must follow technical, environmental, commercial, security and investor assessments, together with compatible land-use approval.
The proposed Semiconductor and Advanced Electronics Innovation District should begin on a limited portion and expand only when occupancy, investment and production justify it. Bangladesh does not need a grand but empty technology city. It needs a functioning cluster that proves its commercial value and grows through performance.
Subject to feasibility and land-use assessment, Purbachal appears particularly suitable for a high-rise campus housing design firms, laboratories, start-ups, training institutions, testing services, venture funds and corporate offices. Large-scale assembly, packaging and component production should use purpose-built, low-rise blocks where zoning, vibration control, chemical safety and emergency access are satisfactory. Heavier process operations may require a linked industrial site rather than a dense urban campus.
The zone should provide bonded and duty-free treatment for eligible inputs, electronic clearance, round-the-clock customs service, controlled access, secure digital infrastructure, dedicated banking and trade-finance facilities, and rapid movement of high-value cargo.
An expensive underground or elevated airport corridor should not be the first investment. Bonded air-cargo handling, priority customs clearance and a secure scheduled freight route would be more practical until freight volumes justify larger infrastructure.
Electricity reliability must be engineered, not promised. The campus should have two independent grid feeds from separate substations or supply paths, supported by emergency generation, battery storage and uninterrupted power systems. Water treatment, wastewater recycling, chemical management and emergency-response systems should meet the verified standards required by confirmed tenants.
Human capital must remain at the centre. A fully residential Semiconductor and Advanced Engineering Institute should be established with reputable international universities and industry. It should offer certifications, diplomas, degrees and apprenticeships in microelectronics, VLSI, chip verification, packaging, testing, materials science, automation, quality control and precision maintenance.
Diaspora engineers, international faculty and experienced industry managers should connect training to production standards. Nearby housing, healthcare, schools and transport should support the talent strategy.
Financing should combine public, private and development-partner resources. Government should provide land, regulation and enabling infrastructure; private developers should build facilities; anchor companies should finance equipment and operations; and development institutions may support infrastructure, training and risk-sharing.
Public money should remove strategic bottlenecks—not replace private commercial risk.
Incentives must be conditional, transparent and performance-based. Bangladesh should reward exports, skilled employment, research, training, local supplier development and measurable capability-building—not promises.
Prime Minister Tarique Rahman has identified the right frontier. The national task now is to convert his vision into a disciplined programme with clear milestones, credible investors, accountable institutions and phased execution.
Bangladesh does not need to dominate every stage of semiconductor production. It needs to secure a valuable position, build competence steadily and move upward over time. With patience, precision, accountability and sustained political commitment, semiconductors can become one of the principal pillars of Bangladesh’s next economic transformation.
Ma. (Retd.) Mohd Akhtaruzzaman is former Member of Parliament.
rtlbddhaka@yahoo.com