Bangladesh has approved a Tk868,000 project to review the environmental and social impacts of Mirsarai Economic Zone, amid growing scrutiny over forest destruction, stalled industrial plans and court proceedings linked to one of the country’s most contested development projects.
Bangladesh has approved a project to assess the environmental and social impacts of the Mirsarai Economic Zone, in a move that reflects growing official scrutiny of one of the country’s most controversial industrial developments.
The project was approved following an application by local non-government organisation Environmental Research and Development Alternative (ERDA), with an allocation of Tk868,000, according to a letter issued by the NGO Affairs Bureau under the Prime Minister’s Office on March 24, 2026. The letter, signed by Senior Assistant Secretary Sharif Ahmed, said the study, titled “Environmental and Social Impact Review of the Samuda Soybean Plant in Mirsarai Economic Zone,” must be completed by September 2026.
The decision comes amid rising concern over land use and environmental damage in Mirsarai, where large-scale industrial expansion has drawn criticism from environmental groups, local residents and rights advocates following the investigation by The Climate Watch.
Investigative reports published by The Business Standard and The Climate Watch in August 2025, titled “Mirsarai Economic Zone: A trade-off between development and environment destruction,” highlighted the ecological cost of the project and intensified public debate over the allocation of land for industrial and foreign-backed ventures.
According to The Climate Watch investigation, more than 55 million trees have been cleared since 2015 to make way for the project, now renamed the National Special Economic Zone, on 22,335 acres of reserved forest in Chattogram, including 853 acres of coastal mangroves. The report said the forest, developed by the Forest Department between 1967 and 2014, had served as a 22-kilometre natural barrier protecting more than half a million people from cyclones, tidal surges and other disasters.
The investigation also documented the collapse of local livelihoods, reporting that crab collectors, herders and sheep farmers lost grazing land, food security and income as forestland was cleared for roads, factories and landfilling. It also raised concerns over biodiversity loss, the commercial use of reserved forest land and large-scale sand extraction from the Bay of Bengal.
The issue later moved to the courts. On September 9, 2025, the High Court ordered an immediate halt to further construction and development at the Mirsarai Economic Zone after a writ petition accused authorities of illegally destroying protected forest and coastal mangroves in Chattogram. The writ petition is still pending before the apex court.
The latest approval follows another significant government move involving the area. In October 2025, Bangladesh cancelled the proposed Indian Economic Zone projects in Mirsarai and Mongla after years of inactivity and no response from the Indian side. Environmentalists viewed the decision as part of a broader government move to reclaim or repurpose land left unused under stalled economic zone initiatives.
The approval of the review project is likely to increase pressure for accountability over environmental destruction in Mirsarai, where authorities have also signalled plans to reclaim unused forest land and begin reforestation.
