Tannery relocation unlikely before 2012
Saturday, 13 November 2010
The relocation of Hazaribagh tannery cluster to Savar would take another two years to complete in a delay that could further swell its costs, the new project head said.
Md. Mahbubur Rahman, project director of Tannery Estate of Dhaka, said the implementation lag over the last couple of years was responsible for the delay of Tk 5.45 billion project.
"I don't see any possibility of relocation … before 2012," Mr Rahman told the FE.
Already, 197 businessmen secured plots from the 200 acre project, although about 60 per cent of the development work is yet to be completed.
He also said a team made of four BUET professors is helping the project office build the central effluent treatment plant (CETP).
The tanners (owners) would shift only after the CETP is operational, said a high official of BSCIC, the project's implementer.
The deadline set by the High Court to shift the Hazaribagh tanneries to Savar ended in June this year but tanners managed to extend the time to next February.
The United Nations Development Organisation (UNIDO), which has experience in tannery relocation across the world, had been assigned to oversee the technical matters.
An official of BSCIC said there was no international supervisor as per the project proposal and no high profile tannery expert or procurement specialists in the committee.
Bangladesh Tanners Association president Md. Shaheen Ahmed told the FE Thursday the tanners have been waiting impatiently to shift to the new estate.
"There was no need to seek time extension from the HC if the TED would have completed," he said.
"We will relocate our industries soon after the project implementation," said the association president.
Chairman of Bangladesh Finished Leather, Leather Goods and Footwear Exporters Association Md. Abdur
Rashid Bhuiyan said the project office should immediately set their target and strategy to execute the new location.
"I can tell you the fact that we are ready to shift there," Mr Bhuiyan said.
According to a survey, about 15000 cubic metre of liquid waste finds its way into the Buriganga each year from 194 tanneries of Hazaribagh, which affects the lives of 3.0 million people.
Md. Mahbubur Rahman, project director of Tannery Estate of Dhaka, said the implementation lag over the last couple of years was responsible for the delay of Tk 5.45 billion project.
"I don't see any possibility of relocation … before 2012," Mr Rahman told the FE.
Already, 197 businessmen secured plots from the 200 acre project, although about 60 per cent of the development work is yet to be completed.
He also said a team made of four BUET professors is helping the project office build the central effluent treatment plant (CETP).
The tanners (owners) would shift only after the CETP is operational, said a high official of BSCIC, the project's implementer.
The deadline set by the High Court to shift the Hazaribagh tanneries to Savar ended in June this year but tanners managed to extend the time to next February.
The United Nations Development Organisation (UNIDO), which has experience in tannery relocation across the world, had been assigned to oversee the technical matters.
An official of BSCIC said there was no international supervisor as per the project proposal and no high profile tannery expert or procurement specialists in the committee.
Bangladesh Tanners Association president Md. Shaheen Ahmed told the FE Thursday the tanners have been waiting impatiently to shift to the new estate.
"There was no need to seek time extension from the HC if the TED would have completed," he said.
"We will relocate our industries soon after the project implementation," said the association president.
Chairman of Bangladesh Finished Leather, Leather Goods and Footwear Exporters Association Md. Abdur
Rashid Bhuiyan said the project office should immediately set their target and strategy to execute the new location.
"I can tell you the fact that we are ready to shift there," Mr Bhuiyan said.
According to a survey, about 15000 cubic metre of liquid waste finds its way into the Buriganga each year from 194 tanneries of Hazaribagh, which affects the lives of 3.0 million people.