Four EZs ready for production

With an investment of more than $883 million, over 14 local and foreign companies in different categories located in four economic zones (EZs) are ready to go into commercial production.

Another 28 more companies are also going to start construction of factories in different EZs.

Bangladesh Economic Zone Authority (BEZA) Executive Chairman Shaikh Yusuf Harun said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina would inaugurate formally the commercial production of factories, constructions of new factories and development works on 24 October.

It will be inaugurated at a time from eight economic zones in different parts of the country.

According to BEZA, dozens of factories have already started trial productions and many others begun their factory constructions.

BEZA has approved investment proposal of worth $6 billion for new industries in EZs.

As many as 14 industries may invest up to $153.23 million. Another 28 newly constructed industries may come up with $601 million investment and further investment of about $1803 million.

A total of 5617 people have already been employed in these industries with a plan to generate employment for another 32,606 people.

Experimental production is underway at four factories in Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Shilpanagar built in Mirsharai and Sitakunda of Chittagong and Sonagazi of Feni.

Those industries will go for commercial production next month for the first time in Shilpanagar.

In addition to that, the first industry of Shrihatta Economic Zone is going to start its commercial production along with nine industrial units of private EZ under Meghna and City group.

Investment also came in the economic zone even during the corona period and now investment has increased.

The Prime Minister will inaugurate about 50 factories and development works. Of them, commercial productions of 14 factories and the construction works of the remaining factories will begin, BEZA Executive Chairman Shaikh Yusuf Harun told the Business Post.

Four to five companies have already gone for trial productions in Bangabandhu Shilpa Nagar. Within next five months more companies will come into production.

Land development work is going in this city to accommodate more investors. This will bring in a lot of new investment.

Besides, development of Jamalpur and Japanese economic zones is also progressing rapidly. Land has already been allotted to different companies. BEZA has allotted land to 28 new institutions in the EZ. Further investment proposals will be screened, he added.

According to BEZA master plan, 41 percent or 14 thousand acres of 33 thousand 805 acres land of Bangabandhu Shilpanagar will have only industrial plants.

Nippon and Macdonald Steel Industries Ltd, a steel processing plant, went into trial production on a 10-acre land. Macdonald Steel Building Industries of Bangladesh and Japan’s Nippon Steel invested $15 million out of a proposed $30 million.

It generated employment for 100 people and is expected to create 300 more jobs. Per year production capacity is 1 lakh tonne of MS plates for both local and export markets.

The trial production is underway at another factory alongside Macdonald Steel Building Products. The factory has been set up here at a cost of $35 million on 100 acres of land.

The proposed investment is $200 million. As many as 350 people are working in this factory out of the proposed 2000. An initial production of 40,000 tonnes of prefabricated steel structures per year is expected from this plant.

Construction of Indian company Asian Paints’ raw materials and paint manufacturing plant was completed on 19.44 acres of allotted land. A total of 135 people are now working in this factory.

Samuda Construction, a concern of TK Group, has completed its factory and waiting for commercial operation in Shilpanagar.

The industry is expected to create employment opportunities for around 90 people. The company has already invested $8.2 million out of its proposed investment of $9.2 million.

According to the investment proposal of the Samuda Food, a concern of TK Group, it will set up various types of chemical industries, consumer goods and food processing plants by investing $205.28 million on 60 acres of land.

The company will employ 2,000 people. It has already started constructions of its three units – an edible refinery unit, caustic soda unit and seed crushing unit –in the industrial park.

Previously, Modern Syntex, another concern of TK Group, took out a lease on a 20-acre land in the industrial city and began setting up factories there.

Once this project of $150 million is set up it will create more than 1,000 jobs. It is expected to produce 500 tonnes of polyester filament yarn, polyester staple fibre and PET chips daily.

These four factories along with the 150-KV power plant PowerGen in Shilpanagar are expected to go into commercial production. In addition, the construction work of Chinese Zhuzhou Jinyuan Chemical Industry was completed a year and a half ago with an investment of $28 million on a 10-acre land.

Bangabandhu Shilpanagar investors said production would have started much earlier if not for corona pandemic. During this period at least a dozen factories could have been opened in Shilpanagar.

The construction of four factories is almost at the final stage but could not be put into operation due to non-arrival of foreign experts because of corona pandemic.

Double Glazing Limited has set up its industry to manufacture four lakh square feet soundproof doors and windows per year in the Srihatta Economic Zone in the north-eastern district of Moulvibazar.

Double Glazing is the Bangladesh-based venture of World Glazing Ltd, a UK registered company.The company initially invested $25 million.There is a plan to invest $200 million in next five years.

A globally reputed Japanese liquid ink manufacturing company Sakata Inx will set up an ink factory with an initial investment of $10 million in the private economic zone Meghna Industrial Economic Zone in Narayanganj.

The $12 million investment of ink company has generated employment for around 100 people in Bangladesh.

Siegwerk Bangladesh, a supplier of printing inks and coatings for packaging applications and labels in Southeast Asia, set up its state-of-the-art Blending Center in Meghna Industrial Economic Zone.

The local Blending Center’s annual production capacity amounts to 3,600MTs of ink. The company has invested $5 million.

Australian TIC Group has set up a hanger factory with an initial investment of $10million in the Meghna Industrial Economic Zone. The hanger factory has started its operation. The factory will produce 600 million hangers yearly.

Four subsidiary companies of Meghna Group will go into trial operation in the zone very soon. The four factories are Meghna PVC, Meghna Foil Packaging, Meghna Bulk Bag and Sonargaon Solar Energy Ltd.

The group has already invested $421.7 million and generated employment for 4250 people.

Two subsidiary companies of City Group have set up factories in the EZ. The company City Seed Crushing Ind. Unit-2 and City Polymers Ltd invested $440 million.

They have generated employment for 875 people and each factory has the production capacity of 15 lakh tonnes.

BEZA is working towards establishing 100 economic zones across the country by 2030. The goal is to create employment for 10 million people.

The BEZA also expects to produce and export products worth $40 billion annually. So far 97 public and private economic zones have been given preliminary approval. Out of them, 28 are in progress.