Bangladesh Government has decided to move all its manufacturing factories located in its metropolitan cities, including the readymade garments, inside the Economic Zones.
The decision, taken in a top taskforce meeting to preserve the flow of rivers and their navigability on February 25, 2018, did not elaborate when the move will come into effect. A press briefing was arranged after the meeting was held at Bangladesh Secretariat.
Land Minister Shamsur Rahman Sharif, Minister for Environment and Forest Anisul Islam Mahmud, and State Minister for Power, Energy and Minerals, Nasrul Hamid Bipu, were also present in the meeting.
This (relocation) will be applicable for all the metropolitan cities including capital Dhaka, informed Shipping Minister Shahjahan Khan, Chief of the taskforce, said in the briefing. “We will be floating out instructions in regard that no new industry will be allowed to be built in the big cities throughout Bangladesh,” he added.
Notably, Narayanganj, adjacent to the capital city Dhaka, are two metropolitan cities teeming with garment factories.
Fazlee Shamim Ehsan, second Vice President of Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters’ Association (BKMEA), who owns Fatullah Apparels in Narayanganj, told Apparel Resources that his association would welcome the move only if the Government creates an alternative first.
“The Government must create a new industrial zone and then we will happily move our factories. But, without doing such, a move to relocate us or stop the establishment of new factories would be extremely bad for the country’s economy,” he said.