Some 57 export-oriented readymade garment companies have so far filed applications with booking money with the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association for getting allocation of about 400 acres of land in the proposed RMG Park under Mirsarai Special Economic Zone in Chittagong.The BGMEA and the Bangladesh Economic Zone Authority recently signed a memorandum of understanding to allocate 500 acres of land to the garment exporters for setting up a well-planned readymade garment factory park in the SEZ.The BGMEA on Wednesday issued a further notice to its members for filling applications with the trade body by April 5 for the remaining 100 acres of land in the zone.According to the BGMEA circular, the area of each plot will be 1 acre and the lease money for the plot will be Tk 1 crore.Interested RMG factory owners will have to pay 26 per cent of the total lease money, including 1 per cent earnest money, as non-refundable booking money and then they will get instalment facility to pay the rest of the amount.It also says that within six months of signing the lease agreement with BEZA the garment companies will have to pay second instalment (26 per cent) and the rest of the amount will have to be paid during the handover of the plots. ‘A total of 57 garment companies has so far deposited booking money with the BGMEA for 370 acres of land and hopefully applications for the rest of the land would be filed within a short time as exporters are interested in setting up units in the zone due to its location,’ a BGMEA official told New Age on Saturday.According to BGMEA sources, a large RMG group in the country has filed for allocating the highest 100 acres of land in the SEZ while one of the groups owned by a BGMEA leader deposited money for getting allocation of 35 acres of land.A former parliament member and owner of a Chittagong-based RMG company has filed an application for the allocation of 25 acres of land in the zone. The BGMEA promised to the BEZA that the RMG sector would invest $2 billion in the SEZ for setting up RMG and garment accessories factories which would generate employment for 5 lakh people.As per the memorandum, the BGMEA will start the process of building factories in the zone within one year.
