The national budget for FY26 is here, and it's historic for all the wrong reasons. It's the first time Bangladesh has tabled a smaller budget than the year before. A Tk7.9 trillion plan laid out by Finance Adviser Dr. Salehuddin Ahmed-calm, deliberate, and cautious-signals a tightrope walk, not a sprint toward industrial expansion. If you're from the construction or ceramics industry, you probably scanned the entire speech hunting for lifelines. Spoiler alert: you didn't find much. And that's the problem.
Let's not pretend industrialization doesn't matter. Do you want jobs? You want exports? Do you want economic transformation? You can't do any of that without real factories, real infrastructure, and a construction sector that moves faster than inflation. For a country trying to pivot away from dependency on RMG and diversify exports, this year's budget left industrial sectors standing in the dark without a torch. The Annual Development Programme-Tk 2.3 trillion strong-isn't small by number. But when you drill down to see what's actually been given to industries that build things brick by brick, it's thin air.
Ceramics, one of Bangladesh's fastest-growing non-RMG exports, got no mention, no tailored package, no headline support. Yet it's a sector that brings in millions, employs tens of thousands, and fights daily battles against energy shortages, import delays, and outdated machinery. This silence from the budget? It's not just a missed opportunity. It's a signal.
Construction, another giant that props up everything from housing to roads to schools, finds itself crunched between higher costs and no specific state-backed acceleration. No special fund for housing development. No concrete (pun intended) allocation to lower cement or steel prices. And nothing to smoothen the path for middle-income home builders or mega infrastructure developers. The government wants the private sector to invest, but without supportive policy, tax breaks, or financing access, it's like asking someone to swim with a chain on their legs.
This isn't just a fiscal issue. It's psychological. Three layers deep, the message stings. First layer: the industries feel forgotten. Second: investors hesitate because they see the lack of priority. Third and most dangerous-young people watching this budget don't see a future in making things. That's how you hollow out a nation's industrial dream.
Now let's be real. The government had its reasons. Revenue collection is under pressure. The NBR has been tasked with collecting Tk4.99 trillion, which is tough even in good years. Foreign aid? It's drying up or tied to tough conditions. Domestic borrowing is projected at Tk1.25 trillion. And yes, Dr. Salehuddin wants to curb inflation, which stands between 9-10 percent and punishes the poor hardest. But here's the catch: without industrial growth, there's no tax base expansion, no job creation, no sustainable growth to tame that inflation long-term. You can't shrink your way into prosperity.
There's another danger. If you don't actively support industrialization, especially in struggling sectors, the informal economy will balloon. People won't sit idle-they'll build without permits, import raw materials through backdoors, and dodge taxes just to survive. That erodes the system from within. It becomes a silent rebellion.
What could've been done? A few simple steps. Allocate a targeted fund to upgrade old machinery in factories. Offer subsidized gas or electricity rates for energy-intensive sectors like ceramics and steel. Reduce import duties on raw materials that don't have local substitutes. Simplify VAT refunds so that exporters can breathe. Even a symbolic Tk5 billion allocation for construction-sector financing could've sent the right signal. Instead, we got well-meaning, broad-brush promises without the specifics to fuel them.
When industries don't get support, they slow down. When they slow down, workers lose jobs or wages. When people lose income, consumption drops. And when demand shrinks, tax collection falls even more. It's a vicious cycle-and the FY26 budget risks feeding it. The logic of restraint might look neat on paper. But in the real world, restraint without vision starves the very engine that's supposed to pull us forward.
This isn't to say the budget has nothing good. The 10 percent cost-cutting target in power generation is bold. The plan to boost gas extraction-1,500 mmcf/day by 2028-is promising. These will help industrial zones in the long run. But by then, how many factories will still be standing? And how many will quietly shut shop, relocate, or downsize while the government drafts the next polite speech?
Dr. Salehuddin Ahmed is a seasoned economist. He knows how tight the rope is. He wants to fix leaks before pouring in more water. But a house needs bricks, not just plumbing fixes. That means recognizing that construction isn't just a sector-it's a multiplier. Ceramics isn't just a product-it's an export brand. Ignoring them in fiscal planning is like cutting off your own foot to save on shoes.
So what happens now? The private sector has to scream louder. Business chambers need to step up. Trade bodies from construction, ceramics, even light engineering must prepare urgent white papers and demand mid-year reviews. Media needs to keep asking tough questions. Because if industries don't push back now, FY27 might come with an even smaller envelope. And the dreams of an industrial Bangladesh might remain what they've been for too long-half-built.
This isn't just about policy. It's about belief. Do we believe that Bangladesh can be more than garments and remittance? Do we believe we can build machines, manufacture components, and sell to the world? The budget should've answered "yes" loud and clear. But it didn't. So now it's up to us to ask, demand, and fight until it does.
This budget might be historic. But history doesn't remember who trimmed the fat. It remembers who built it.
The writer is managing director and CEO, Bridge Chemie Limited and an expert in tiles and ceramic industries
