Staff Reporter:
Commerce, Industries and Textiles and Jute Minister Khandakar Abdul Muktadir on Thursday said the government would continue to support private sector investment as part of its efforts to stimulate industrial growth and create employment opportunities across Bangladesh.
Speaking at the signing ceremony of a lease agreement between the Bangladesh Jute Mills Corporation (BJMC) and Bangladesh Jute Alliance Limited at the Secretariat in Dhaka, the minister said private enterprises are generally more efficient in managing industrial operations than state-run entities.
He said the government was therefore encouraging greater private sector participation to ensure the productive use of state-owned assets, expand manufacturing activities and generate more jobs.
As part of the initiative, BJMC signed an agreement leasing 14.80 acres of land in Narsingdi to Bangladesh Jute Alliance Limited.
State Minister for Textiles and Jute Md Shariful Alam said the government aims to maximise the use of public assets by attracting private investment to the country’s closed BJMC mills and reviving industrial production.
He said 20 of the 25 closed BJMC mills had been selected for leasing, with agreements already signed for 14 of them.
According to the state minister, production has resumed at nine leased mills, creating employment for around 9,500 people and producing nearly 160 metric tonnes of jute goods each day.
Shariful Alam said Bangladesh Jute Alliance Limited, which had previously leased 34.50 acres of land and generated around 3,200 jobs, would now invest an additional Tk10.5 billion under the new agreement.
The fresh investment is expected to generate annual production worth about Tk30 billion and create employment for a further 3,000 people, he added.
He said such investments would contribute significantly to industrialisation, export growth and employment generation, supporting the government’s broader economic development agenda.
Cabinet Secretary Dr Nasimul Gani, Finance Secretary Dr Khairuzzaman Chowdhury and senior officials from the Ministry of Textiles and Jute attended the signing ceremony.
