Prime Minister Tarique Rahman has directed the Education Ministry to take steps to establish a specialised public university in Cox’s Bazar focusing on Bangladesh’s marine and coastal economy.

The proposed University of Blue Economy Sciences and Technology would offer education, research and practical training in oceanography, fisheries and aquaculture, marine environment, coastal resource management, blue economy, marine data, tourism and hospitality.

The initiative follows a proposal from Home Minister and Cox’s Bazar-1 lawmaker Salahuddin Ahmed, who wrote to the prime minister seeking approval for the university. Salahuddin disclosed the proposal on his verified Facebook page on Monday.

In his letter, the home minister argued that Bangladesh possesses significant marine resources in the Bay of Bengal but lacks the skilled workforce and institutional capacity needed to exploit them sustainably.

The proposal calls for using the existing facilities of the Bangladesh Oceanographic Research Institute (BORI) in Cox’s Bazar to get the university running quickly rather than building an entirely new campus from scratch.

BORI’s laboratories, research facilities, scientific personnel and coastal research infrastructure could initially support academic and practical programmes, as well as internships and research opportunities for students.

Salahuddin said the approach would reduce the time and cost required to establish the university while making better use of Bangladesh’s existing marine research infrastructure.

The proposed institution is intended to develop specialists capable of linking the country’s marine resources, fisheries, coastal tourism and scientific research with economic activity.

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