Fourteen factories go commercial in EZs

Fourteen local and foreign companies – in a landmark celebration of Bangladesh’s economic progress – are launching commercial production in four economic zones across the country today, with an investment of over $883 million.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is scheduled to inaugurate the historic event, and also virtually lay the foundation stones of 29 industries and 3 economic zones, Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority (BEZA) sources say.

According to BEZA, the government has approved 97 EZs. Among those, 28 are now at different stages of development. A total of 179 investors have been allotted with land in various government EZs with a proposed investment of about $26 billion.

Besides, nearly $4 billion has been invested in 12 licensed private EZs. At present, 29 enterprises have started commercial production in public and private EZs and 61 more are under constructions.

In these economic zones countries including Japan, China, India, Australia, the Netherlands, Germany, United States of America (USA), United Kingdom, Singapore, South Korea and Norway have invested a significant amount of money.

BEZA has endorsed a $6 billion investment proposal for new industries in several government and private EZs.

BEZA has provided One Stop Service (OSS) Centre for hassle-free business handling. At present OSS is providing 125 types of services to investors from its dedicated centre. Of the services, 48 types of services are provided online.

Bangabandhu Shiek Mujib Shilpa Nagar (BSMSN) built in Mirsharai and Sitakund of Chittagong and Sonagazi of Feni is the country’s first planned and smart industrial city.

Commercial operation of four industries of this city will be inaugurated on Sunday.

Sreehatta EZ will start commercial production along with nine more industrial units of different private EZs under Meghna, City, Bay and TK groups.

Inauguration of commercial operations of 14 industries which may increase their investment up to $153.23 million will also be held. Another 29 newly constructed industries with $601 million investment and further investment of about $1803 million will also be inaugurated.

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

The investors from home and abroad in EZs include Meghna Group, City Group, Bashundhara Group, Bay Group, Aman Group, PHP Group, TK Group, Abdul Monem Group, BGMEA, BEPZA, Asian Paints, Berger Paints, Adani Group, Sumitomo Corporation, CCECC, Jeihong, Marico, Nippon Steel, Honda Motors, Miago, Huntsman, Siegwork, TIC, Sakata Inx, Sika Ltd, Jotun paints and Singer etc.

Investment came for the economic zone even during the Corona period and now it has increased. The Prime Minister will inaugurate different factories and development works.

Of them, commercial production of 14 factories and the construction works of the remaining factories and EZ will begin, BEZA Executive Chairman Shaikh Yusuf Harun told the Business Post.

He said already the companies had gone into trial production in EZs. Within next five months more companies will come into production. More land development work is going on in this city for more investors. This will bring in a lot of new investment.

Besides, the development of the Jamalpur and Japanese Economic Zone is also progressing rapidly. Land has already been allotted to different companies.

BEZA has allotted land to different foreign and local companies in EZs. Further investment proposals will be screened, he added.

Apart from that, administrative building of BSMSN, Jamalpur EZ, Sreehatta EZ and Sabrang Toursim Park will be inaugurated together with various significant infrastructures of BSMSN namely 20-km-long Sheikh Hasina Sarani, 230KVA Grid Line and Sub-Station and 50MLD Water Treatment Plant.

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

Nippon & Macdonald Steel Industries went into trial production. Macdonald Steel Building Industries of Bangladesh and Japan’s Nippon Steel invested $15 million out of the proposed $30 million generating employment for 100 people.

It is expected to create 300 more jobs. Its target is to produce 1 lakh tonnes of MS plates for local and export markets a year.

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

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

Indian company Asian Paints’ raw material and paint manufacturing plant set up a factory at a cost of $35million on 19.44 acres of allotted land. As many as 135 out of proposed 500 people are working in this factory.

Samuda Construction, a concern of TK Group, has completed its factory and is now waiting for commercial operation in Shilpa Nagar. The industry is expected to create employment opportunities for around 90 people. Thirty people are already working there.

The company has already invested $8.2 million and proposed an 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 construction of the three units of the factory – an edible refinery, caustic soda unit and seed crushing unit. It will be set up in the industrial park.

Previously, Modern Syntex, another concern of TK Group, leased 20 acres of land in the industrial city and began setting up factories there.

Once established, the project built at an estimated cost of $150 million will create more than 1,000 jobs. It is expected to produce 500 tonnes of polyester filament yarn, Polyester Staple Fiber and PET chips daily.

These four factories along with the 150 KV Power Plant PowerGen in Shilpa Nagar is expected to go into commercial production. In addition, the construction work of China’s Jiyuanjinyuan Chemical Industries factory was completed a year and a half ago with an investment of $28 million on 10 acres of land.

Bangabandhu Shilpa Nagar investors said production would have started much earlier if not for Corona. During this period at least a dozen factories were opened in Shilpanagar.

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

Double Glazing Limited has set up an 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 and a UK registered company. The company initially invested $25 million. It has a plan to invest $200 million in the 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 will generate employment for around 100 people in Bangladesh. A total of 9000 tonnes printing ink, resins and allied products will be produced per year at the company.

Siegwerk Bangladesh, a supplier of printing inks and coatings for packaging applications and labels in Southeast Asia will build a state-of-the-art Blending Centre in Meghna Industrial Economic Zone.

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

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

Meghna Group’s four subsidiary companies are in trial production in the zone currently. 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 in those four factories and generated employment for 4250 people.

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

Those companies have generated employment 875 people and they have production capacity of 15 lakh tonnes in each factory.

BEZA is working to establish 100 economic zones across the country by 2030. The goal is to create employment for 10 million people. BEZA also expects to produce and export products worth $40 billion annually from these economic zones.