Local entrepreneurs called upon the government to give the authority of approving local investment to the Ministry of Industries by installing one-stop service with a view to speeding up investment process. “Investors do not need to take approval from the Ministry of Industries while setting up industrial units, but they have to take certificates from 17 different government agencies which linger on the investment process,” the entrepreneurs said calling upon the government to enable the Ministry of Industries in handing investment approval. Such authority of the Ministry of Industry is also necessary to achieve the goal of drawing more investment, they added. The entrepreneurs came up with the call at a seminar titled “Problems and Prospects of Making Bangladesh a Middle Income Country by Industrialisation” held at Bangladesh Chamber of Industries (BCI) in the capital on Tuesday. Amir Hossain Amu, Industries Minister, spoke at the seminar as chief guest with AK Azad in the chair. Dr Mohammad Tamim, Professor of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Engineering Depart of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), delivered the keynote paper at the seminar. Manjur Ahmed, Advisor to the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI), Md Jasim Uddin, President of Bangladesh Plastic Goods Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BPGMEA), Dr Jaforullah Chowdhury, Trusty of Ganasasthya Kendra, Dr Jamal Uddin Ahmed, General Secretary of Bangladesh Economic Association, and Monowara Hakim Ali, former senior vice-president of FBCCI, among others, spoke at the event. Uninterrupted power and energy supply is one of the main challenges for the country in expanding industrialisation, said the speakers mentioning local and foreign investment did not see acceleration due to such challenges. Suggesting the government coal-based power and electricity, the entrepreneurs said there is no alternative to adopt a 20-year mega plan of industrialisation. They also suggested the government for turning the National Industrial Policy 2015 into act after its declaration. While speaking at the event, the industries minister said the government has been expanding the BSCIC industrial area as well as establishing economic zones across the country with a view to implementing its aim of industrialisation.
