Apparel industry leaders will place an action plan to the government this week seeking infrastructure improvements and smooth supply of energy needed to achieve the targeted $50 billion garment export by 2021. “We have prepared a roadmap in consultation with stakeholders including industry people and international experts and will submit it to the government on the opening day of the three-day Bangladesh Apparel and Safety Expo Chittagong 2015,” Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) president Md Atiqul Islam said. He was speaking at a press conference held on Saturday at its headquarters in the city ahead of the Expo that kicks off Thursday at Radisson Blu Chittagong Bay View in the port city. The roadmap is the combination of opinions, recommendations and advice to identify the future challenges and their way-outs to achieve the $50 billion apparel export target set during the Dhaka Apparel Summit held in December last, Mr Islam added. Different stakeholders including government, private sector, donors, brands and right groups during the Summit also put emphasis on a sustainable plan of action to help put forward the target, he added. “We need to develop our Infrastructure and ensure smooth supply of energy on a priority basis and the roadmap will help how to solve them,” Mr Islam added. Replying to a question, he said the government has reduced the bank interest rate to 12 per cent, exempted import duty on some safety equipments and pre-fabricated building materials in line with the recommendations that came at the Summit. More than 70 stalls at the Expo will showcase apparel products, fabrics, accessories, machinery and safety equipments, organisers said. “The main purpose of the expo is to bring the industry people together with key products, service and technical partners to improve the safety situation and brand Bangladesh,” the BGMEA chief said. There will be four seminars on ‘Branding Bangladesh’, ‘Training and Developing Skills for Strong, Sustainable and Balanced Growth’, ‘Financing Apparel Growth’ and ‘Capacity Building of Port, Customs, Power and Infrastructure to Reach $50 Billion in 2021’.
