Minister firm on relocating tanneries to Savar by April

FE Report | Published: January 25, 2015 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2026 06:01:00

All tanneries will have to be relocated to Savar Leather Industrial Estate from the toxic tannery hub of Hazaribagh within the stipulated period to check degradation of environment, save the capital city and the river Buriganga from pollution.
"There will be no tanneries at Hazaribagh after the period," said Industries Minister Amir Hossain Amu while inaugurating a workshop on 'Leather and Leather Goods: Next to RMG' at a city hotel on Saturday. He urged the tanners to relocate their factories to Savar immediately.
Despite repeated reminders and providing facilities, many of the tannery owners are delaying shifting of their units to Savar, said the minister.
The leather estate is being developed at Savar with all modern facilities including the Central Effluent Treatment Plant (CETP), where all forms of tannery wastes are to be treated to help develop the industry-environment friendly.
According to the Department of Environment, about 220 tanneries at Hazaribagh discharge some 21,600 cubic metres of liquid wastes and 88 tonnes of solid wastes per day, posing a serious threat to the livelihood of some 100,000 people and prompting observers to deem it to be an environmental disaster.
"It has become inevitable to remove the tanneries from Hazaribagh to save the environment as well as for development of the industry itself," said the minister, who also said that it is possible to move the tanneries at Savar leather estate within the stipulated time.
The initial deadline for relocation of the more than 60-year old tanneries from Hazaribagh to Savar Leather Estate was June 2004, which was extended to December 2005 and subsequently postponed in December 2010 due to multifarious reasons. These included, among others, establishment of CETP, compensation for tanners and fund constraints.
The government reset the new deadline until April this year for relocation of tanneries
The Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industries Corporation (BSCIC) is now implementing the leather estate at Hemayetpur, Savar at a cost of Tk 10.78 billion.
The authorities are hopeful of completing the estate within the stipulated period.
Terming compliance as an important parameter in international business today, the minister said buyers from global markets, especially from the EU and Japan, are increasingly insisting on adherence to compliance norms. Very often, they decline to place import orders showing the environmental impacts caused by unhealthy leather factories.
"But once we can upgrade the industry as environment-friendly, we can make our room in the world leather and leather goods business," said the minister highlighting the potential of the country's leather industry.
Presided over by BOI Executive Chairman Dr. SA Samad, the inaugural session was addressed, among others, by Food Minister Advocate Qamrul Islam, Dr Abdur Razzaaue MP, chairman of the Bangladesh Finished Leather, Leather Goods and Footwear Exporters' Association (BFLLFEA) Engineer M Abu Taher, senior secretary of the Ministry of Commerce Hedayetullah Al Mamoon and BOI Executive Member Nabhash Chandra Mandal.
The BOI organised the day-long workshop, split into several sessions, to explore the potential of leather industry and find out ways and means to develop the sector further which has 90 per cent value addition.
The workshop brought together a large number of entrepreneurs, experts, researchers, academics, policy-makers and technocrats who discussed the potential and weaknesses of the industry, identified the threats and recommended suggestions to take the growth of the sector to a new trajectory.
Speakers at the meeting identified leather as one of the most promising sector next to the readymade garment sector and said it might emerge as one of the country's major foreign exchange earners, if nourished accordingly.
In working sessions, Savar Leather Industrial Estate project director Sirajul Haider presented a keynote paper describing the latest situation of the estate, while Picard Bangladesh Ltd Managing Director Md. Saiful Islam presented a paper highlighting the possibilities and challenges of Bangladesh's leather sector.
Sobur Ahmed of the Institute of Leather Engineering and Technology presented the main paper on the subject - 'Leather and Leather Goods: Next to RMG in Bangladesh'.
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