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The government should ensure equal facilities for fire safety equipment imports for both export-oriented and local industries so that everyone is encouraged to set up the apparatus properly, Secretary General of Electronics Safety & Security Association of Bangladesh (ESSAB) Mahmudur Rashid told The Business Post’s Rafikul Islam in an exclusive interview.
ESSAB organised the eighth International Fire, Safety & Security Expo 2022. What is your expectation from the event?
Like previous years, we organised the three-day expo this year, which started on November 24 at the Bangabandhu International Conference Centre in Dhaka. We could not arrange the expo last year owing to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Around 100 local and international brands participate this year. Of them, 30 are from the US, Canada, Europe, the UK, China, Japan, the Middle East, India, and other countries.
Our main goal is to showcase new firefighting technology and create awareness among people across the country. Industry owners can choose the right products after getting to know the modern global technologies at the expo.
Introducing modern fire safety products encourages the government to provide proper policy support. Besides, the new generation will also learn many things from here. We expect around 10,000 people will visit the exhibition, which was 7,000 during the previous event.
What inspired you to establish ESSAB?
ESSAB is a non-profit trade association, which was established in 2013 with a good number of people engaged in the fire safety business. We currently have more than 150 member companies.
We would like to represent, promote, and enhance the growth and capacity building of the fire safety, life safety, security, and integrated systems industry. ESSAB provides advocacy to the government, delivers necessary information, enhances professional development tools, organises training, and introduces the latest technologies that members use to grow and prosper in their businesses.
We try to organise the sector, bring everyone under one umbrella, and introduce the right products for different industries.
What is the current fire casualty situation in Bangladesh?
A total of 86,390 fire incidents occurred in the last four years in the country. Of those, 21,601 incidents occurred last year, which killed 219 people and injured 576.
Besides, in 21,073 incidents in 2020, 154 people died and 317 were injured. There were 24,074 incidents in 2019 when 184 people died and 560 were injured. In 2018, there were 19,642 incidents, resulting in 217 deaths and 1,488 injuries, according to the fire service and civil defence department data.
Earlier in 2010, the number of fire incidents was 14,682 and 63 people died across the country.
Currently, there are 1,187 high fire risk and 3,518 vulnerable structures across the country. Among them, 1,069 high fire risk and 2,583 vulnerable establishments are in the capital.
Different offices, garment and other factories, markets, and shopping malls have been built in these risky buildings in Dhaka. Many of them do not have valid approvals from the authorities concerned and were built without complying with the building code. We must lay emphasis on fire safety now to protect people’s lives and property.
What are the challenges the fire safety equipment industry faces in Bangladesh?
There are two types of industries here - local and export-oriented. The export-oriented apparel industry has taken and developed fire safety measures, thanks to the government’s policy support and pressure from foreign buyers.
The garment industry is enjoying different facilities, such as tax benefits, ease of customs clearance, and bank support, in importing fire safety equipment, but other local industries are not. Local industries have to pay 30-90 per cent import tax.
As a result, installation costs are higher for local industries, such as leather, plastic, agro processing, and jute, but the life and property risks are the same. Local industry owners are reluctant to install fire safety equipment due to high costs, and that is their biggest challenge.
What type of policy support do you want from the government?
There are around 350 fire safety system providers and importers in the country. It is a big market as the products are needed for all residential, commercial, and industrial buildings.
All fire safety equipment is imported, and that is why the government’s policy support is needed. The government should ensure equal facilities for fire safety equipment imports for both export-oriented and local industries so that everyone is encouraged to set up the apparatus properly.
We want to import all life-saving products by paying the minimum tax. Customs clearance should be easier, and the requirement to show all legal documents should be relaxed.
We want policy support so that we can manufacture the equipment and export them to earn foreign currencies. The government is building 100 economic zones, and fire safety equipment manufacturers can be allotted space there. Besides, foreign companies should be encouraged to invest in this sector here.
Tell us about your company and its future investment plan
I am the managing director of Grasshopper Group of Companies. We are engaged in the business of fire and building safety equipment, shipping and logistics services, export-oriented garment printing, and eco-friendly concrete blocks and tiles.
In the future, we want to produce fire safety equipment and expand our footprint in the global market. We would also like to invest more to diversify our business in different potential sectors.
