The industrial estate of Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industries Corporation (BSCIC) in Rajshahi metropolis has started making profit with investment by some of the country’s big companies.
Abul Khair Group, Pran Agro Limited and Nitol Group have taken plot allocation and started their production. Many other large groups of companies are in the pipeline.
> According to the officials concerned, the sick and laid off industries are being replaced with new viable enterprises.
> Transferring process of the existing infrastructures of Shahi Fabrics and Shah Mukhdum Silk Industries, which remained inoperative for long, is at the final stage. “The sick industry owners will either restart their businesses or transfer possession of their units,” said Mominul Islam, estate officer of the BSCIC, adding that creation of new estates became necessary to meet the local demand.
He said more than 100 units of BSCIC were declared sick and laid off about 18 to 20 years back but the number at present came down to almost zero level because of the rising trend in production and marketing of goods. Most of the industrial units have become profitable over the last couple of years as the local entrepreneurs have been showing keen interest in restarting the sick industries and operating their business successfully after transferring ownership. Some of those are also trying to get new plots to set up various other prospective industrial units.Moreover, 190 industrial units out of total 200 plots are making profit through their successful operation and 10 other units are waiting to go for production in near future, Mominul expects. The 325-plot BSCIC industrial estate, established in 1961 on 95.71 acres on the city’s outskirts, has been providing electricity, water supply, security, road and drainage facilities to the entrepreneurs for running their business.A successful garment entrepreneur of the country, Shahriar Alam, MP, State Minister for Foreign Affairs, had launched the North Bengal Flour Mills on a plot of the estate creating more employment opportunities here and some other big entrepreneurs are following the same path.He also launched a training center for knitwear factory, besides the flourmills, for the first time in the region. Several silk-clothes manufacturing units earned reputation for their quality products. They expect that there would be no more sick industry in the estate, the officials said.Terming the BSCIC industrial area viable for any small and medium industry, Monzur Faruque Chowdhury, former President of Bangladesh Silk Industries Owners Association, said the entrepreneurs were making profit and are demanding uninterrupted power and gas supply to the BSCIC to reduce production costs.He stressed the need for taking necessary steps to formulate a separate industrial friendly policy for the country’s northwestern region, checking smuggling of Indian goods, providing gas connection to the industrial units and bank loans at low interest rates for making these industries more profitable. -BSS, Rajshahi
