The government is moving ahead with plans to restart closed jute mills to attract new investment, create jobs, and increase export earnings, said Commerce, Industries, and Textiles and Jute Minister Khandaker Abdul Muqtadir.
"We plan to lease six more jute mills to the private sector by December this year," he said.
The announcement came on Thursday after an emergency meeting with stakeholders at the Ministry of Textiles and Jute in the city.
The minister said the meeting reviewed the condition of closed mills, investment opportunities, and ways to attract investors quickly.
He said that some mills have already been handed over to the private sector, where investors have made good investments and created jobs.
Each mill is expected to create more than 1,000 jobs, while initial estimates suggest new investments of Tk 2.0-5.0 billion per mill, said the minister.
He said all mills under the ministry will gradually return to production--some in the jute sector and others in different industries.
This will create thousands of jobs, earn foreign currency, and reduce import dependence.
State Minister for Textiles and Jute Mohammad Shariful Alam said he is visiting mills and working quickly based on field experience.
He said the government aims to revive closed mills and make them economically productive again.
Officials present at the meeting included BIDA Chairman Ashik Chowdhury, Secretary Abdun Naser Khan, and chairmen of BTMC and BJMC, along with investors.
Earlier, operations of 25 jute mills under BJMC were shut down in 2020. Later, 20 mills were planned for leasing.
So far, 14 mills have been leased during the interim government, of which nine are already in production.
Five leased mills are yet to start production.
Before the shutdown, BJMC had a liability of Tk 25 billion. The 25 mills had 35,992 staff including officials, employees, workers and teachers.
Of them, 32,361 were workers while 20,608 were permanent, according to the BJMC.
BJMC-run mills produced hessian, sacking, CBC, yarn, geo-jute, blanket, and mat, among others.
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