The month-long Dhaka International Trade Fair (DITF) is going to start today (January 1) at the Bangabandhu Bangladesh-China Friendship Exhibition Center (BBCFEC) in Purbachal in the capital.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will inaugurate the fair virtually from her official residence Ganabhaban at 10 am today.
Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi will preside over the function, which will be attended by ministers, state ministers, foreign ambassadors, political leaders, FBCCI president and leaders of various trade bodies. A total of 225 stalls including 23 pavilions, 27 mini pavilions, 162 stalls and 15 food stalls of various business groups, companies and individuals from home and abroad are taking part in the fair this time.
The commerce ministry and the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) jointly organised the 26th edition of the fair at the Purbachal site for the first time.
The Bangladesh-China Friendship Exhibition Centre, built at a cost of Tk817 crore, comprises a total of 33,000 square metres of floor space.
The auditorium inside the exhibition building has a cafeteria that can serve at least 500 people at once.
Apart from business stalls and pavilions, there will be food courts, restrooms, and a playground for kids at the fair.
The gate of the international trade fair will open at 10 am every day and close at 9 pm, except for government holidays when the fair will run till 10pm.
Every adult visitor will have to pay Tk40 for entry tickets while for minors the ticket price has been set at Tk20.
To ease transportation to the fair, the government has taken several initiatives, including deploying 30 BRTC buses which will run from under the Kuril flyover to the fair from 8am to 10pm every day.
A visitor will need to pay Tk 25 for each trip.
However, everyone keeps an eye on the gate of the trade fair.
This time the theme of the gate has been given priority to mega projects.
There are four entrances to the main gate of the fair. The entrance has been rounded like Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Tunnel or Karnafuli Tunnel.
The symbolic structure of the Padma Bridge has been placed as a bridge over it. The Rooppur nuclear power plant and the metrorail also have symbolic structures.
Dhaka International Trade Fair started in 1995. Since then, local companies have been using trade fairs as a means to introduce their brands. Buyers are also encouraged to go to the fair. Dhaka International Trade Fair has been held in Sher-e-Bangla Nagar since 1995. Due to this the place is also known as ‘Mela Math’. The last time the 25th Dhaka International Trade Fair was held was in January 2020 at Sher-e-Bangla Nagar.
Although preparations for the fair started in Purbachal in January 2021, it was not rolled out due to Corona.
This time the 26th edition is going to start in Purbachal.