The government is going to renovate and reopen 13 textile mills under public-private partnership arrangement at a cost of Tk 15,200 crore.The cabinet committee on economic affairs approved a proposal from the jute and textiles ministry to this effect yesterday.At present, the factories, owned by Bangladesh Textile Mills Corporation (BTMC), have been lying closed and the machineries have gone out of order.About 380 acres of land with market value of Tk 1,592 crore have remained unused in the mills, according to the proposal. The corporation will consider the land as capital. The private party will implement, maintain and market products of the project.The shares of the project will be distributed as per the partnership and the number of shares going to each party will be determined through negotiation. The tenure of the partnership may be 30 years. The committee also approved purchase of 30 Mercedes Benz or BMW cars at an estimated cost of Tk 24.26 crore for the OIC (Organisation of Islamic Countries) meet scheduled to be held in Dhaka next year. The cost excludes taxes.
According to a proposal of the civil aviation and tourism ministry, the price of each car, including registration and import insurance, stands at Tk 80.89 lakh. If the duty is imposed, their price will soar by 597 percent. After the conference, the vehicles will be used for VIP guests invited to international conferences.Of the cars, five will be given to the foreign ministry and the rest might be handed over to the government’s transport pool.The cabinet committee also gave nod to buy three 80-seater aircraft from Canada for $22.42 million each under a government-to-government arrangement.The Dash 8 aircraft, which are fuel-efficient and cost-effective, will fly on seven domestic and three regional routes: Kolkata, Yangon and Kathmandu.The aircraft, which is built by Canadian plane manufacturer Bombardier Inc, is ideal for short-haul routes. Canada’s government-owned Export Development Canada will provide Biman with the necessary credit to help buy the aircraft.Biman’s fleet now comprises 13 aircraft: 10 Boeings, one Airbus and two Dash 8s.The initiative to acquire the new planes was taken as a number of aircraft will be removed for re-delivery and returned once their lease term ends.One of the Boeings will be removed from the fleet in the last week of January and another in March next year for re-delivery, according to the proposal.The Airbus will be returned in February next year, two Dash-8s in April 2020, and two Boeings in 2022 once their lease term expires, according to the proposal.At present, $1.68 lakh is spent on the two hired Dash 8 aircraft every month.
