The government is planning to establish another industrial estate in Jessore in a bid to utilise the enormous industrial prospects of the area.
After getting a proposal from the authorities of Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industries Corporation (BSCIC) in Jessore, the Corporation's head office has formed a 5-member committee to examine the possibility of setting up the industrial estate.
BSCIC deputy general manager (DGM) Ms Khadiza Begum told the FE that the committee would visit Jessore soon to see the real scenario of the area.
"We will prepare the final proposal of the second industrial park in Jessore after receiving the report of the committee," she said.
Presently, Jessore has an industrial estate with a total of 123 units. Almost 100 per cent of the units are in operation. A total of 121 mills and factories are producing various accessories and more than 6,000 people are employed in these industrial units, sources said.
The industrial estate was established at Jhumjhumpur, adjacent to Jessore town, in 1962 on 50 acres of land. The industrial estate produced various products worth about Tk 4.40 billion in the fiscal year (FY) 2012-213. About half of the products were export-oriented, the sources said.
Newly appointed DGM of Jessore BSCIC Md Rezaul Karim told the FE that the setting up of an industrial estate requires various procedures and the proposal of establishing a second industrial estate is still at the primary level.
"The BSCIC authorities will finalise it after getting the field report of the 5-member committee, and then it will be sent to the ministry of industries (MoI). Before finalising the proposal by the ECNEC (Executive Committee of National Economic Council) as a project, some other procedures will be followed," he said.
Mr Karim said though it seems a complicated process, it would be easier if the government takes the proposal as an important one considering its possibilities.
BSCIC officials said as the present Jessore industrial estate has no vacant space, the businessmen of the area have been losing the chances of setting up their mills and factories there.
BSCIC officials said more than 100 factories producing different goods have been running in a scattered way in different parts of the Jessore town especially the automobile industry. They produce motor parts, bodies of buses, trucks and auto-rickshaws. As there is absence of necessary facilities and proper guidance, these factories have failed to produce goods at the expected level; they are rather polluting the area, said the sources.
Jessore BSCIC officer Lutfar Rahman said there is a long-standing demand of the businesses here to set up another industrial estate and the government took steps to establish the industrial estate many times. But, it is yet to be established.
He said there was a plan to set up the second BSCIC industrial estate on 40 acres of land close to Jessore police outpost. However, it is yet to be executed.
In 2011, a proposal was sent to the BSCIC head office to set up the second industrial estate, he said.
Earlier in 2005, the BSCIC authorities progressed a lot to set up the second industrial park. A 40-acre land was selected at Daitala in Fatehpur union along the Jessore-Narail road in the Sadar upazila for the proposed park. The decision also went in vain, the officials added.
Sources said the concept of industrial estate was introduced in the country in 1960s to provide necessary services and facilities to the private entrepreneurs for expanding small and cottage industries. The BSCIC has so far set up 74 industrial parks in the country.
