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SANGSAD BHABAN, July 15, 2026 (BSS) – The Jatiya Sangsad today passed the ‘Invest Bangladesh Bill, 2026’ under which the Invest Bangladesh Authority will be formed, which will serve as the country's single investment promotion agency.

The bill, moved by Minister in charge for the Prime Minister's Office in Parliament and Home Affairs Salahuddin Ahmed, was passed by voice vote.

The new law abolishes the Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority (BEZA), the Bangladesh Public Private Partnership Authority (PPP Authority) and the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA), replacing them with a single statutory body named ‘Invest Bangladesh Authority’.

During the passage of the bill, Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed said the practice of referring bills to standing committees began only from the Seventh Parliament and stressed that the proposed law was not an entirely new piece of legislation.

He said the government was merely consolidating existing institutions created under different laws because their functions had increasingly overlapped.

"We are not creating a new concept. Different authorities with similar responsibilities have created overlapping functions, and investors are not receiving services through a genuine one window system. We are simply merging these authorities into one," he told the JS.

The minister acknowledged that the government would have preferred to place the bill before Parliament earlier but said Wednesday was the final sitting of the session.

"If there had been any complex legal issue in the bill, I myself would have proposed sending it to the standing committee," he said, urging the Opposition to support the legislation.

The minister said any proposed amendments could be raised verbally because procedural requirements had already been waived.

He assured Parliament that reasonable amendments suggested by lawmakers would be considered and, if necessary, incorporated in a future parliamentary session.

The minister reiterated that the legislation primarily merged existing legal frameworks rather than introducing a completely new regime and publicly pledged to consider justified amendments in future.

Deputy Speaker Barrister Kayser Kamal welcomed the minister's assurance and expressed hope that the commitment made on the floor of Parliament would be honoured.

The Deputy Speaker declared that the "yes" had prevailed and allowed the bill to be taken up immediately for consideration before it was passed by voice vote.

Under the new law, the Invest Bangladesh Authority will serve as the country's single investment promotion agency responsible for attracting domestic and foreign investment, coordinating approvals across government agencies, approving investment incentives and managing industrial zones and public private partnership projects.

The law also provides for a unified digital platform integrating all investment related approvals, licences and permits, making participation mandatory for all government agencies. Existing one stop service portals will eventually be merged into the new platform.

The authority will be empowered to recommend visas and work permits for foreign investors and experts, facilitate investment agreements, oversee industrial land allocation and advise the government on the strategic use or sale of unused state owned industrial assets.

The Prime Minister, or a nominee, will chair the governing board of the new authority, while ministers responsible for finance, energy, foreign affairs, land, industries, commerce and law will serve as members alongside senior officials and four private sector representatives, including two women.

The legislation also repeals the Bangladesh Economic Zones Act, 2010, the Bangladesh Public Private Partnership Act, 2015, the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority Act, 2016 and the One Stop Service Act, 2018, transferring all assets, liabilities, contracts and personnel of the dissolved authorities to the new body.