Govt to reopen 13 closed jute mills in two years: Minister

FE Team | Published: August 20, 2009 00:00:00 | Updated: February 01, 2018 00:00:00

FE Report
The government will reopen 13 closed jute mills within the next two years in a bid to rejuvenate the ailing sector, Textiles and Jute Minister Abdul Latif Siddiqui said Wednesday.
"Thirteen more closed jute mills will be reopened in the next two years. With the resumption of their operation, the number of running state-owned jute mills will stand at 27," he said at a press conference at the secretariat.
Currently, 14 jute mills are in operation under the state-run Bangladesh Jute Mills Corporation (BJMC), Mr Siddiqui said adding the number was 77 after the independence of Bangladesh.
The textile and jute minister also said the government has moved to make the country's jute industry commercially viable and operationally sound.
"The state-run jute mills will be taken to at least a break-even point by the next two years," said the minister.
To achieve the goal, necessary steps have been taken for enhancing the number of skilled manpower, rehabilitating the age-old machinery and ensuring adequate supply of seeds for jute growers, he mentioned.
Steps will also be taken to facilitate rating of locally-grown green jute for the sake of maintaining the quality of the fibre, he added.
"The lost glory of the country's jute industry can certainly be regained," the minister.
Responding to a query, he said process is on to clear the outstanding dues of the retired/retrenched jute-mill workers.
"This government has already paid Tk 1.0 billion as arrear to the workers while steps have also taken to clear the remaining amount of Tk 5.0 billion," Mr Siddiqui said.
When asked, the minister said the prices of raw jute are now varying between Tk 1100 and Tk 1600 per maund depending on the fibres' quality.
He also admitted that the government recently allocated Tk 2.0 billion to the BJMC mills for purchasing raw jute in order to run their production.
On the sideline of the press conference, the textile and jute minister, who is also a senior leader of Awami League, also observed that there were no war criminals in Bangladesh, rather there are 'liberation war criminals'
"This government is committed to try the cowards, those who had assisted the occupation force in 1971," said Mr Siddiqui.
He further said those who speak against Bangabandhu Shiekh Mujibur Rahman, should be treated as the enemy of the country.