STAR BUSINESS REPORT

Bangladesh’s leather industry risks falling behind rising global compliance standards unless management of the troubled Central Effluent Treatment Plant (CETP) at the Savar Tannery Industrial Estate is handed over to a competent professional operator, economists and industry stakeholders said at a webinar yesterday.

The long-awaited relocation of tanneries from Hazaribagh to Savar remains incomplete because critical environmental infrastructure has failed to function properly, said Hossain Zillur Rahman, executive chairman of the Power and Participation Research Centre (PPRC),

“The relocation was never meant to be just a physical shift of factories,” he noted at the webinar on the leather sector organised by PPRC.

He added that waste treatment facilities must operate effectively if the industry is to meet international standards.

Rahman argued that the CETP, crucial for environmental compliance and export competitiveness, should remain under government ownership but be managed by an independent professional operator selected through a transparent process.

He questioned whether the Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industries Corporation should continue overseeing the facility, saying compliance requirements are essential for participation in global markets regardless of trade preferences.