Dhaka, June 16 -- The government's approval of a Tk 41.89 billion China-funded economic zone has triggered questions over whether its timing is linked to the prime minister's scheduled visit to Beijing.

The project to develop a Chinese Economic and Industrial Zone (CEIZ) in Chattogram's Anwara Upazila was cleared on Tuesday at a meeting of the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC), chaired by Tarique Rahman.

The plan, first agreed in principle in 2016 during Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to Dhaka, had remained stalled for nearly a decade due to procedural and administrative complications.

On Tuesday, it was approved under the "Supporting Infrastructure Project for Chinese Economic and Industrial Zone" over...