Comilla EPZ going to be largest in country soon
Tuesday, 15 July 2008
COMILLA, July 14 (UNB): Comilla Export Processing Zone (EPZ) is soon going to be the country's biggest EPZ with large-scale extension.
The Bangladesh Export Processing Zones Authority (BEPZA) is processing a proposal to acquire 450 acres of land in the southwestern part of the present EPZ and set up 531 new industrial plots.
The World Bank will finance the expansion, sources at the Comilla EPZ said.
Export earning from Comilla EPZ amounted to US$129.996 million in fiscal 2007-08 against the target of $93 million.
Comilla EPZ was set up in April 1999 on 267.46 acres of land in old airport area. At present, there are 211 industrial plots in the EPZ, while work on setting up 52 more industrial plots is going on.
Of the total, the authority has already allocated 150 plots while the rest are awaiting allocation.
The amount of total investment in the Comilla EPZ is $71.674 million-foreign investment $21.347 million, joint venture investment $42.965 million and local investment $7.32 million.
Presently, about 7,824 officials, employees and labourers are working in the industrial units operating in the EPZ. The workforce includes 52 foreigners. With the proposed extension, another 13,000 labourers will get employment.
Apart from the local factories, there are eight industrial units fully financed by investors from South Korea, Hong Kong, Britain, Malaysia, India, Taiwan and Japan.
China, Taiwan and South Korea also set up five factories in the EPZ under joint investment with Bangladeshi entrepreneurs.
A power plant, Bangladesh Mac Power Generation Company, is now under construction in the EPZ area, which will initially produce 10 MW electricity and gradually upgraded to 50 MW. The electricity will be used in the industrial units at the EPZ.
The investors were given lease of the plots by the BEPZA for 30 years, paying $2.20 yearly per square metre.
The industrial units operating from the EPZ's own building have to pay $2.75 monthly per square meter. Also they have to pay separately for other facilities like water, power and gas.
Comilla EPZ supplies water from its own sources, while power through 35 transformers of its own. It has streetlights covering 14-kilometre area, gas regulating station, internal gas transmission pipeline and 250 telephone lines.
The Bangladesh Export Processing Zones Authority (BEPZA) is processing a proposal to acquire 450 acres of land in the southwestern part of the present EPZ and set up 531 new industrial plots.
The World Bank will finance the expansion, sources at the Comilla EPZ said.
Export earning from Comilla EPZ amounted to US$129.996 million in fiscal 2007-08 against the target of $93 million.
Comilla EPZ was set up in April 1999 on 267.46 acres of land in old airport area. At present, there are 211 industrial plots in the EPZ, while work on setting up 52 more industrial plots is going on.
Of the total, the authority has already allocated 150 plots while the rest are awaiting allocation.
The amount of total investment in the Comilla EPZ is $71.674 million-foreign investment $21.347 million, joint venture investment $42.965 million and local investment $7.32 million.
Presently, about 7,824 officials, employees and labourers are working in the industrial units operating in the EPZ. The workforce includes 52 foreigners. With the proposed extension, another 13,000 labourers will get employment.
Apart from the local factories, there are eight industrial units fully financed by investors from South Korea, Hong Kong, Britain, Malaysia, India, Taiwan and Japan.
China, Taiwan and South Korea also set up five factories in the EPZ under joint investment with Bangladeshi entrepreneurs.
A power plant, Bangladesh Mac Power Generation Company, is now under construction in the EPZ area, which will initially produce 10 MW electricity and gradually upgraded to 50 MW. The electricity will be used in the industrial units at the EPZ.
The investors were given lease of the plots by the BEPZA for 30 years, paying $2.20 yearly per square metre.
The industrial units operating from the EPZ's own building have to pay $2.75 monthly per square meter. Also they have to pay separately for other facilities like water, power and gas.
Comilla EPZ supplies water from its own sources, while power through 35 transformers of its own. It has streetlights covering 14-kilometre area, gas regulating station, internal gas transmission pipeline and 250 telephone lines.