A hospital or factory on TESIS land?
Wednesday, 23 December 2009
TAM Nurul Basher
THE Parliamentary Standing Committee for Post and Telegraph (P&T) Ministry has recommended to make TESIS an "electronics zone."
At the time of Bangladesh's independence in 1971. TESIS used to produce electro mechanical switches for telephone exchanges in collaboration with Siemens, who were then marketing a new generation of switches. More advanced cross bar switches had come to the world market by that time. In no time cross bar switching was in demand.
As EMD switching had no future, this factory should have reoriented to making electronics. At that time, Bangladesh was purchasing MUX (Multiplexing Equipments) for its long distance microwave links from Siemens. These were fully FDM (frequency division multiplexing) electronic equipment. The proposal to assemble MUX at TESIS, instead of buying turnkey projects, was not accepted by the P&T ministry.
TESIS could also assemble the project in the country to save money. It would have given exposure to Bangladeshi engineers to the new technology to develop system engineering as well as assembling and manufacturing of other equipment.
It was very much possible because Bangladeshi engineers had restored the war-devastated nationwide microwave system in 1972, at a cost of Tk 34,000 as against one million dollar demanded by GTE USA, who had supplied the system. The ministry agreed not go turnkey from the next project.
But, within months, a tender notice was published by the ministry in newspapers seeking bids for the microwave project in the northern region, on a fully turnkey basis. It was simple frustrating.
A session at a "National Electronics Seminar", held in 1974, at the initiative of Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission, was chaired over by Maj Gen Ziaur Rahman. In a paper I emphasised that TESIS be converted to manufacture all electronic equipment for the government, including T&T and the Defence.
After I left Bangladesh Telephone & Telegraph Board (BTTB) and the country in 1977, I took time off during my vacation in the mid eighties to meet my friends in TESIS. My friends working in TESIS were in a very happy because TESIS got a big order from BTTB to manufacture and supply 300 steel almiras. Would it sound credible?
TESIS used to provide, right from its inception, free lunch to all its personnel. I was invited to lunch, which was quite sumptuous. To the displeasure of my friends, I declined. There was no justification for free food at a government-owned company.
TESIS, like other public sector enterprises, has been kept alive artificially, to serve, possibly, the interest of its employees and the rulers, but not the Republic. During the mid '90s, TESIS did assemble electronic PABX system for a brief period. Subsequently, it laid cable for BTTB or subcontracted contractors for cable laying for BTTB.
The government now wants to revamp TESIS to manufacture electronic goods. Running an organisation to manufacture electronic equipment needs talent. Whether TESIS has it is a question. The chairman of the standing committee, himself an engineer, should understand it.
There is no point keeping alive a public sector factory that cannot run on profit.
Examples of how government-owned factories are run, are many. At Patenga, Chittagong, the government runs General Electric Manufacturing Company (GEMCO) under Steel and Engineering Corporation, to manufacture power distribution system. Now it manufactures only transformers for transmission lines up to 11 KV (11,000 volts). The efforts to privatise the company due to chronic losses had to be abandoned twice for unknown reasons. The massive factory on 100-acre plus one, set up with Soviet assistance, should be able to manufacture a wide range of power equipment worth over Tk five billion a year. But the sophisticated machinery, bought by the government at a huge cost, remains idle. GEMCO engineers were never consulted before the procurements.
Now, GEMCO manufactures only low capacity distribution transformers mostly to meet the requirements of the government at high costs. For example, Power Development Board (PDB) procures a 200 KVA transformer through competitive bidding at Tk 3,67,500 each. But it places direct order to GEMCO for a transformer of the same capacity at Tk 4,05,000 each. For a 250 KVA transformer the tender bidding is Tk 4,38,000 each while it cost a GEMCO transformer Tk 5,20,000 each. PDB accepts GEMCO transformers even though they do not meet the specification.
The related Parliamentary Standing Committee chairman should find out how many persons are working there, and on what salary and other benefits.
The public sector enterprises could serve the bureaucrats or even the politicians, but not the country.
It would be better for the government to convert TESIS into a teaching hospital. The Tongi area's growing industrial park needs a medical college hospital. No national purpose could be sowed by pouring more public money into a non-performing public sector enterprise.
THE Parliamentary Standing Committee for Post and Telegraph (P&T) Ministry has recommended to make TESIS an "electronics zone."
At the time of Bangladesh's independence in 1971. TESIS used to produce electro mechanical switches for telephone exchanges in collaboration with Siemens, who were then marketing a new generation of switches. More advanced cross bar switches had come to the world market by that time. In no time cross bar switching was in demand.
As EMD switching had no future, this factory should have reoriented to making electronics. At that time, Bangladesh was purchasing MUX (Multiplexing Equipments) for its long distance microwave links from Siemens. These were fully FDM (frequency division multiplexing) electronic equipment. The proposal to assemble MUX at TESIS, instead of buying turnkey projects, was not accepted by the P&T ministry.
TESIS could also assemble the project in the country to save money. It would have given exposure to Bangladeshi engineers to the new technology to develop system engineering as well as assembling and manufacturing of other equipment.
It was very much possible because Bangladeshi engineers had restored the war-devastated nationwide microwave system in 1972, at a cost of Tk 34,000 as against one million dollar demanded by GTE USA, who had supplied the system. The ministry agreed not go turnkey from the next project.
But, within months, a tender notice was published by the ministry in newspapers seeking bids for the microwave project in the northern region, on a fully turnkey basis. It was simple frustrating.
A session at a "National Electronics Seminar", held in 1974, at the initiative of Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission, was chaired over by Maj Gen Ziaur Rahman. In a paper I emphasised that TESIS be converted to manufacture all electronic equipment for the government, including T&T and the Defence.
After I left Bangladesh Telephone & Telegraph Board (BTTB) and the country in 1977, I took time off during my vacation in the mid eighties to meet my friends in TESIS. My friends working in TESIS were in a very happy because TESIS got a big order from BTTB to manufacture and supply 300 steel almiras. Would it sound credible?
TESIS used to provide, right from its inception, free lunch to all its personnel. I was invited to lunch, which was quite sumptuous. To the displeasure of my friends, I declined. There was no justification for free food at a government-owned company.
TESIS, like other public sector enterprises, has been kept alive artificially, to serve, possibly, the interest of its employees and the rulers, but not the Republic. During the mid '90s, TESIS did assemble electronic PABX system for a brief period. Subsequently, it laid cable for BTTB or subcontracted contractors for cable laying for BTTB.
The government now wants to revamp TESIS to manufacture electronic goods. Running an organisation to manufacture electronic equipment needs talent. Whether TESIS has it is a question. The chairman of the standing committee, himself an engineer, should understand it.
There is no point keeping alive a public sector factory that cannot run on profit.
Examples of how government-owned factories are run, are many. At Patenga, Chittagong, the government runs General Electric Manufacturing Company (GEMCO) under Steel and Engineering Corporation, to manufacture power distribution system. Now it manufactures only transformers for transmission lines up to 11 KV (11,000 volts). The efforts to privatise the company due to chronic losses had to be abandoned twice for unknown reasons. The massive factory on 100-acre plus one, set up with Soviet assistance, should be able to manufacture a wide range of power equipment worth over Tk five billion a year. But the sophisticated machinery, bought by the government at a huge cost, remains idle. GEMCO engineers were never consulted before the procurements.
Now, GEMCO manufactures only low capacity distribution transformers mostly to meet the requirements of the government at high costs. For example, Power Development Board (PDB) procures a 200 KVA transformer through competitive bidding at Tk 3,67,500 each. But it places direct order to GEMCO for a transformer of the same capacity at Tk 4,05,000 each. For a 250 KVA transformer the tender bidding is Tk 4,38,000 each while it cost a GEMCO transformer Tk 5,20,000 each. PDB accepts GEMCO transformers even though they do not meet the specification.
The related Parliamentary Standing Committee chairman should find out how many persons are working there, and on what salary and other benefits.
The public sector enterprises could serve the bureaucrats or even the politicians, but not the country.
It would be better for the government to convert TESIS into a teaching hospital. The Tongi area's growing industrial park needs a medical college hospital. No national purpose could be sowed by pouring more public money into a non-performing public sector enterprise.