Govt decides to lease out 8 jute mills to pvt sector

---

FE Report
The government has decided to lease out its eight jute mills to the private sector to revitalise the country's public jute sector, which recorded an accumulated loss worth Tk 47.70 billion until 2006.
The decision on leasing out the mills, of which four have already been closed down, was taken Thursday at a meeting of the cabinet committee on economic affairs, chaired by Finance and Planning Adviser Mirza Azizul Islam.
"We have taken a decision in principle to lease out the eight jute mills to private sector," said Mirza Azizul after the meeting.
Of the eight jute mills, Quami Jute Mills in Sirajganj, Karnaphuli Jute Mills in Chittagong, Forat Karnaphuli Carpet Factory in Chittagong, and Peoples Jute Mills in Khulna were closed down recently.
About 6,000 officials and workers have become unemployed due to the closure. The number of jute mills under the Bangladesh Jute Mills Corporation (BJMC) has now dropped to 18.
The government has planned to adjust the liabilities of the closed jute mills with the lease money. The authorities have already advised the concerned banks to stop charging interest on the outstanding loans that the closed jute mills owe them.
The four other mills, which will be leased out are M M Jute Mills, R, R, Jute Mills and Baghdad-Dhaka Carpet Factory in Chittagong, and Alim Jute Mills in Khulna, are in operation.
Although the finance and planning adviser did not say anything about the criteria of leasing out the mills, the BJMC officials said tender will be floated to accomplish the job.
The highest bidders will run the mills for five years from the date the agreement is signed. At the end of the agreement, the tenure can be extended for five years more.
The private sector management of the leased-out mills will have to keep the existing manpower of the running mills. In closed jute mills, the lease receivers can appoint necessary officials and workers.
The BJMC earlier sought the government's approval to lease out the mills, including the closed ones, to make them operationally sound and commercially viable.
Many interested private jute mills operators have already urged the government to set criteria so that the local jute-mill operators can get priority in this regard, source said.
The government has also plans to transfer its other loss-making jute mills to the private sector in phases.