Industries vexed at no-gas plan beyond economic zones
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Moreover, the private SEZs may charge abnormal prices for land purchase and other costs. So many entrepreneurs do not have the ability to buy the land from them. They will be in big trouble due to the decision, he said.
Bangladesh’s economic growth comes from the local entrepreneurs, so they will suffer from this decision, he added.
A Matin Chowdhury, managing director of Malek Spinning Mills and former president of Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA), said he was in favour of the government decision of having planned industrialisation.
But this necessitates time as the SEZs are not yet ready while the small entrepreneurs do not have the ability to run their units in such specialised areas, he said.
The government should provide a lot of facilities to the small units so that they can go n to grow more, said Chowdhury.
“The government’s decision of planned industrialisation is very important. I am also in favour of this decision. But the government’s decision is not clear in expansion,” said BTMA President Mohammad Ali Khokon.
“The decision is also not clear till when the utility services would be given…Investment will be affected. Economic zones are not ready to set up industrial plants there,” he said.
The energy and mineral resources division issued the circular on October 5 citing an instruction of the prime minister at a meeting of the governing body of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Shilpa Nagar held on October 20, 2019.
The directive said, “In view to discourage unplanned industrialisation all utility services including power and gas connection will have to be stopped in phases except for that inside the economic zone.”
“The industrialists should have to give advice in this regard. The implementation work will have to start from hence and inform all.”
The energy and mineral resources division issued the circular for the state-run gas distributing authority of utility suppliers, including Petrobangla and Titas Gas.
But the directive is not enforceable for economic zones under Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority (Beza), and industrial sites under the BSCIC.
Md Anisur Rahman, secretary the energy and mineral resources division, told The Daily Star that the circular has been issued to encourage planned industrialisation and avoid industrialisation here and there.
“We issued the circular as per the direction of the prime minister, and we will follow it strictly to discourage unplanned industrialisation and protect agricultural land,” he said.
“We will conduct campaigns regarding our circular to stop unplanned industrialisation while industrial gas connections will not be provided after March 2021,” he added.
About industries that have already been set up and awaiting gas connections, he said obviously they would have to complete legal and official formalities to avail gas connections for their industries. Otherwise, they would not be provided connections.
He also said they could avail physical connection later, but official formalities would have to be completed within the stipulated time.
However, he said, there would be no bar to availing gas connections in economic zones or the BSCIC industrial park.
Manwar Hossain, group managing director of the Anwar Group of Industries, said the directive would hinder the influx of fresh investment from new industries while investors would not be able to expand their industries.
“If the industrialists do not get gas connections, they will not be able to expand their industries, then how will they survive the competition,” he asked.
According to him, the directive could not be termed as a visionary one.
The government should keep allocations for shifting existing industries and provide land to industrialist if it wanted to stop industrialisation outside the economic zones.
This type of directive will not bring any good result for industrialisation as existing industrialists have already settled in locations that suit them right, he said.
Paban Chowdhury, executive chairman of Beza, said the investors settling in any one of the economic zones would get gas connections.
Now gas is available at all running or under-construction economic zones, including the BSMSN, Jamalpur economic zone and Moulvibazar economic zone.
Besides, gas connections are available at all private economic zones, he said.
However, he said, there was no gas at the Mongla economic zone as there was no gas supply line in Bagerhat district.
Regarding the directive of the energy and mineral resources division, he said they wanted planned industrialisation to avoid gas pipelines being laid in a scattered manner.
He further said the directive was quite the division’s respective decision and that it had no connection with Beza.
Mohammed Amirul Haque, managing director of Premier Cement, said investors have who already started new projects and planned expansions would face problems if they were unable to avail gas connection.
The idea of the economic zones is good for planned industrialisation, the environment and protection of the land, but the government should give a thought to the existing and already-approved plans for industries, he said.
This sudden directive of the energy and mineral resources division cannot be termed as friendly towards the industry as it should take up this initiative after a substantial period of time, he said.
“A number of industrialists already invested for new projects or purchased land to expand their industry…how will they roll back from their investment plans,” he asked.
BSCIC ChairmanMostak Hassansaid around 35 per cent of the 76 industrial parks of the BSCIC has no gas connection. The remaining 65 per cent of the parks have no gas connection due to the absence of gas supplies in associated districts.
The parks in the northern district, except for Nilphamari and Bogura, have no gas. Investors are available where gas is available, and almost all plots are booked in those parks while in Sylhet region there are no investors despite the BSCIC having provided gas and power, he said.
The people of Sylhet region, including the expatriates, are not interested in making investments, he said.