Chairman of the Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority Paban Chowdhury met with the leaders of the Chittagong Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) at the conference hall of Chittagong Circuit House on Sunday. During the meeting, he stressed the need for setting up a special industrial zone for revival of the tannery industry in Chittagong. “It’s really unfortunate that there is no leather village in the commercial hub of Chittagong. A long-term initiative is required to develop the leather industry and leather village in this part of the country,” he said. He sought advice and recommendations from the trade body leaders to build up a leather village for development of the tannery industry in Chittagong. CCCI president Mahbubul Alam said the government has taken steps for setting up 100 industrial zones throughout the country while more than 30 of them will be in Chittagong. But energy crisis is a major impediment to flourishing of the industries. Through development of infrastructures, the Chittagong region could turn into a really commercial hub, he added. He said 30 to 40 per cent of the country’s total rawhide is procured from the Chittagong region. So, this region can help a lot for the development of the leather industry if a leather village is set up here for the construction of tanneries. He also requested the BEZA chairman to set up a zone for aluminium industry in the port city. CCCI director Mahfuzul Haque Shah, ADC (LA) Md Daulatuzzaman Khan, owners of the tannery industries, shoe cottage industries and aluminium industries also spoke on the occasion while CCCI directors Ohid Siraj Chowdhury Swapan and Anjan Shekhor Das were present.
