The Bangladeshi government has announced plans to establish a special economic zone (SEZ) for the leather goods and footwear sectors. The zone will offer tax breaks and other incentives to manufacturers and will be located near the Savar Leather Industry Estate, which is currently under construction approximately 40 kilometres from Dhaka.

Footwear exporters said that, if this goes ahead, it will help to revive the country's footwear industry, which is already beginning to see increased interest from European buyers, both for leather goods and footwear. According to managing director of Apex Footwear Syed Nasim Manzur, the country’s leather shoe manufacturing industry appears to be entering a new era as European buyers are starting to consider Bangladesh as a reliable supplier and as a possible alternative to China and Vietnam.

President of the Bangladesh Finished Leather Exporters Association Tipu Sultan said he was hopeful that the zone would lead to increased overall exports.

There are currently 41 export-oriented leather goods manufacturers in the country and more than three-quarters of these are involved in footwear manufacture. Footwear exports totalled $96 million in fiscal 2005-06 and the country’s target for this fiscal year, ended June 30, is $113 million.