Industries Minister Nurul Majid Mahmud Humayun on Sunday told Parliament that Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industries Corporation (BSCIC) reopened 715 industrial factories in the last 13 years.
“Some 715 closed industrial factories were recommenced by BSCIC from 2009 to 2022,” he said replying to a starred question from Awami League MP Mozaffar Hossain (Jamalpur-5).
Besides, Bangladesh Steel and Engineering Corporation (BSEC) restarted its industrial firm Dhaka Steel Works Limited (DSWL) at Tongi in Gazipur on July 5, 2018, said the Minister.
He said a feasibility study for modernization of the DSWL was completed on June 30, 2021.
With Speaker Dr Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury in the chair, the question-answer session was tabled at parliament.
In reply to another starred question from ruling party MP Habibur Rahman (Bogura-5), the industries minister said BSCIC has taken initiative to set up agriculture-based industrial estates or parks in five districts – Thakurgaon, Rangpur, Bogura, Meherpur and Tangail.
The proposed industrial estates or parks are BSCIC Food Processing Industrial Estate in Thakurgaon, BSCIC Madhupur Industrial Park (for processing agro goods including pineapple) in Tangail, BSCIC North Regional Agricultural Goods Processing Industrial Park in Bogura, BSCIC Agricultural Processing Industrial Estate in Rangpur and BSCIC Agricultural Goods Processing Industrial Park in Meherpur.
There are now 79 BSCIC industrial estates across the country, Nurul Majid said responding to a question from Jatiya Party MP Rustum Ali Faraji (Pirojpur-3).
Responding to another question from AL MP Ali Azam (Bhola-2), the industries minister said there are 15 state-owned sugar mills in the country.
But only one mill -- Carew & Co BD Ltd-- is a profitable one and the remaining 14 mills can’t make profit, said Nurul Majid.
Among the 14 mills, threshing of sugarcanes in six mills (in Panchagarh, Setabganj, Shyampur, Rangpur, Pabna and Kushtia) has remained suspended since 2020-21 season, he said.