BEPZA Economic Zone-2 in Mirsharai, Chattogram has officially started export operations for the first time, with Lee’s Tobacco Machinery Company Limited shipping $50,000 worth of tobacco machinery to Indonesia on September 8.

The company received the zone’s first export permission from the Bangladesh Export Processing Zones Authority (BEPZA) on September 3.

With the shipment, BEPZA Economic Zone-2 entered the operational phase, taking the total number of operational industrial zones under BEPZA to 10 — eight export processing zones and two economic zones.

Lee’s Tobacco Machinery, owned by investors from the United Arab Emirates and Singapore, signed a land lease agreement with BEPZA on February 3, 2025. It has total investment of $3.72 million and employs 29 officers, employees and workers.

The company is the first of 18 firms allocated industrial plots in BEPZA Economic Zone-2 to begin commercial operations. Three more firms are expected to start production and export activities soon, while the remaining 14 are under construction.

The first export to Indonesia has created new potential in Bangladesh’s commercial relations with that country.

“Bangladesh’s exports to Indonesia are comparatively low,” said Whaheduzzaman, executive director of BEPZA Economic Zone-2. “We are hopeful that the start of exports from BEPZA Economic Zone-2 to Indonesia will play a positive role in expanding Bangladesh’s export market and diversifying export destinations.”

BEPZA Economic Zone was established on 1,138.55 acres of land in Mirsharai, Chattogram. It was later divided into BEPZA Economic Zone-1 and BEPZA Economic Zone-2 to manage administrative and operational activities more effectively, and the government has formally declared the two zones as separate economic zones.