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BSCIC FIELD IN JHENAIDAH
Wed Nov 23 2022 10:00 AM Last updated on: Wed Nov 23 2022 10:00 AM
Factories in the BSCIC Industrial Zone in Jhenaidah have weathered the fallout from Covid-19 and are now enjoying better business. For example, this unit that manufactures jute yarn, bags and fabrics earns a good income by shipping its products abroad. PHOTO: Azibor Rahman
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Factories in the BSCIC Industrial Zone in Jhenaidah have weathered the fallout from Covid-19 and are now enjoying better business. For example, this unit that manufactures jute yarn, bags and fabrics earns a good income by shipping its products abroad. PHOTO: Azibor Rahman
Factories in the Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industries Corporation (BSCIC) Industrial Estate in Jhenaidah are beginning to flourish after being threatened with closure amid the pandemic years of 2019 to 2021.
The industrial zone was established in 1988 on 15.70 acres of land along the Jhenaidah-Dhaka highway in Dhanharia village, according to BSCIC officials.
For all the latest news, follow the Daily Star’s Google News channel. With the 101 plots of the BSCIC estate already allocated to various industries, only five units in the area are currently inoperative as their owners will soon be changed.
The total investment in the industrial zone amounts to Tk 207.67 lakh, while about 97% of the service charges levied on the factories are made monthly.
There are 61 Category A plots which are 4,500 square feet in size while the 25 Category B plots are 300 square feet. In addition, there are 14 category C plots which have different sizes.
During a recent visit to the BSCIC area, this correspondent found that most businesses inside the complex have been having a good time lately.
However, plot owners said they would feel safer if there were protective entrance and exit gates on the estate while a canal running through it is set to be upgraded.
Businesses in the BSCIC area provide a number of valuable services and products in the region and beyond.
Md Hasanuzzaman, senior executive of Metal, said they are importing agricultural machinery from India and selling them to farmers in Bangladesh.
“We are doing good business,” he added.
Md Sahabuddin, director of Serf Agro Industry, said they produce various fertilizers.
“We produce sulphur, gypsum, zinc fertilizers and all types of pesticides, which are supplied to farmers in different districts in Bangladesh as well as some countries abroad,” he added.
The factory employs a hundred workers.
Md Abdul Mozid, Director of Smart Cables Industry, said that they have been operating in the industrial zone for 12 years now.
“We are producing cables and marketing them to different districts across the country. Now we are heading for good profits,” he told the Daily Star.
Ashaduzzaman, director of Zaman Jute Diversify, said that they produce jute yarn and export it to EU countries.
The company has three units in the BSCIC area which employ a total of 1,000 people.
“We also collect jute from different markets to make bags and fabrics,” he added.
Selina Rahman, Deputy Director of Jhenaidah BSCIC, said these industries have been hit by multiple crises amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Some 10-12 influential people had taken plots but and they were not running any business. Exercising their authority, they held the plot to no avail,” she added.
Rahman went on to say that she had submitted a quote for the construction of two gates, but the authority only agreed to install one.
“The rest will be built in turn,” she said.
Rahman then informed that a problem with the area’s drainage system has already been resolved while undisturbed electricity and water supply are being provided smoothly.
