As the feasibility study of the Baushia Garment Palli in Munshiganj has been completed successfully, BGMEA is now planning to make payment for land at the proposed Garment Park from the end of August next. Chinese Oriental International Holding (OIH) Limited has successfully completed the feasibility and environmental study of the proposed Garment Palli on 492 acres of land at Gazaria of Munshiganj. Following a MoU signed with the BGMEA, the OIH has ended the studies while a joint venture company will be formed jointly by both the BGMEA and the OIH. After acquiring the land with the help of the deputy commissioner of Munshiganj, the joint venture company will apply for licence for the garment park. Process of paying the land owners to complete the land acquirement will start by August next, Shahidullah Azim, Vice-President of BGMEA, told this correspondent. According to sources, the feasibility study has scrutinised all the related issues, including probable cost of developing the park, financing procedures, repaying and duration of fund, developing the park – either in the form of plots or buildings and their number, expected employment generation, and time for relocating the factories and its procedures, Azim said not elaborating further. The demand for setting up the garment village for relocation of vulnerable garment units has become stronger after the Tazreen fire incident. Later, the Rana Plaza collapse, which killed more than 1,100 workers and thousands injured, emphasised the need for speedy relocation of such units. These incidents drew huge attention home and abroad, and the global buyers asked for ensuring health, fire safety and other compliant issues. The government started land acquiring process and BGMEA and the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) were asked to pay for completing the establishment work of the economic zone. But the two apparel bodies expressed their inability to pay such substantial amount of money at a time saying that the industry is facing various challenges, including uncertainty over funds for remediation or retrofitting factories against the backdrop of ongoing factory inspection programmes. The BGMEA, later, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with a Chinese company in Beijing for the development of the clothing industry Bausia last year. As per the MoU, the Chinese company will establish the Garment Palli investing $2 billion. Shahidullah Azim said it would cost Tk 900 crore to acquire the land. Mentionable, the industrial park will have plots with infrastructure facilities, utility services, medical facilities, central effluent treatment plants, day-care centres, roads, drainage facilities, waste-dumping yards, fire-fighting equipment, banks, insurance offices and so on. Around 2.5 lakh workers will be able to be employed at the Industrial Park which will export goods worth $4 billion. Md Daud Mia, Manager (Admin) of Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority, while talking to this correspondent said the process of establishing the Garment Palli is going rapidly and it will make a major headway soon.
