State Minister for Textiles and Jute, Mirza Azam, yesterday said that over 70 textile and jute mills will be brought back under public ownership. “Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has directed the Textiles and Jute Ministry to bring back privatised mills that have violated conditions,” he said. Azam, as Chief Guest, was addressing the opening session of “13th Dhaka International Textiles and Garment Machinery Exhibition (DTG 2016)” at Bangabandhu International Conference Centre (BICC). Azam alleged that the owners of privatised mills have sold them out and started housing projects instead. He said that the government wants to provide all kinds of support to the textiles sector. “We are working to formulate a new textiles law to safeguard the sector,” he said.
An example of such irregularity is the illegal sale of the land of state-owned Karilin Silk Mills in Chittagong to Bangladesh Steel Re-Rolling Mills Ltd (BSRM) by a workers’ leader through forgery. The Independent, on January 23, published a report on the illegal sale of Karilin Silk Mills land, some 2.69 acres of land alongside the Dhaka-Chittagong Highway in Fauzdarhat Industrial Area, at Tk 17.34 crore to BSRM in November 2010. As per the gazette notification of the Ministry of Textiles and Jute and condition of the handover deed between the government and the workers and employees of Karilin, there is no provision to sell or buy the mill. Speaking at the opening of DTG 2016, the minister also informed that the government plans to establish 9 textiles colleges and 13 institutes relating to the sector to generate skilled manpower.
Commenting on foreign employees in the sector, Azam said that they receive salaries equivalent to 3 lakh local workers. “If we can produce world-class skilled manpower in the textiles sector, we can save this money,” he said.
Mohiuddin said that less than 2 per cent of the factories are yet to fulfill compliance requirements. He urged State Minister of Power and Energy, Nusrul Hamid Bipu, to take proactive steps to provide gas connections to factories. He opined that investment will increase compared to earlier as the political situation is stable now. Mohiuddin stressed that though they have achieved export targets this year, the sector continues to face a number of challenges.
Siddiqur demanded policy support from the government to fulfill the export target of $50 billion by 2021. He said that till date, at least 60 to 65 per cent woven fabric has to be imported. “If we are able to produce this world-class fabric in Bangladesh, we will not need to import. It is possible if the government supports us,” he said.
Meanwhile, Hoque said that over the last three decades, the primary textiles sector in the country has made significant progress and emerged as strong backward linkage for growing export earnings. “I feel DTG 2016 is an ideal forum for exchange between suppliers and buyers in this sector,” he said.
The four-day expo will continue till January 31, and has been jointly organised by the Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA), Chan Chao International Company Ltd and Yorkers Trade and Marketing Service. Among those present were First Vice President Shafiul Islam Mohiuddin; President of Bangladesh Garments Manufacturers and Export Association (BGMEA), Md Siddiqur Rahman; Acting President of BTMA, Fazlul Hoque; and Director of Chan Chao International Company Ltd., Tiger Lin.
A media release from the organisers of the expo informed that DTG 2016 represents more than 1,000 world-class leading brands from 32 countries and regions. Among the brands featured at the expo are Mayer & Cie, Pai Lung, Santoni, Shima Seiki, Stoll, Terrot, Picanol, M&R, CTMTC, Fong’s, Groz-Beckert, Karl Mayer, LMW, Rieter, Saurer, Tajima and Toyota. Among the countries participating in the expo are Austria, Bangladesh, China, Denmark, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, Spain, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, UK, US, and Vietnam. On display across 1,160 booths is machinery covering end-to-end processes in the textiles and garments supply chain, including spinning, weaving, knitting, dyeing, printing, finishing, testing, washing, embroidery, sewing and related equipment.