Bangladesh is in the final stages of shortlisting bidders wanting to operate some state-owned jute mills under lease after all 25 such units closed around a year back. The Bangladesh Jute Mills Corporation (BJMC), operator of the mills, has received proposals to lease out 17 such units. Entrepreneurs from the United Kingdom, India and Bangladesh have reportedly submitted 59 proposals.
It may take three more months for the government to award the leases, Imran Ahmed, deputy secretary in the textiles and jute ministry, told a top newspaper in the country.Bangladesh is in the final stages of shortlisting bidders wanting to operate some state-owned jute mills under lease after all 25 such units closed around a year back. The Bangladesh Jute Mills Corporation has received proposals to lease out 17 such units. Entrepreneurs from the United Kingdom, India and Bangladesh have reportedly submitted 59 proposals.#
The procedure includes shortlisting the most potential bidders and giving the shortlisted ones some time to prepare and submit their elaborate financial and technical proposals.
Starting with 73 jute mills under its operation after 1971, BJMC has none now, but there are 3,000 employees under its payroll.
No modernisation, no replacement of old machines, inefficient management and corruption led BJMC to losses and eventually, it had to close all jute mills and lay off over 50,000 workers.
The 17 mills to be leased out are: Platinum Jubilee Jute Mills Ltd, Crescent Jute Mills Ltd, Eastern Jute Mills Ltd, Khalishpur Jute Mills Ltd, Daulatpur Jute Mills Ltd and Star Jute Mills Ltd in Khulna, Hafiz Jute Mills Ltd, Gul Ahmed Jute Mills Ltd, KFD Jute Mills, MM Jute Mills Ltd and RR Jute Mills Ltd in Chittagong, Jessore Jute Industries Ltd and Carpeting Jute Mills Ltd in Jessore, Bangladesh Jute Mills Ltd and UMC Jute Mills Ltd in Narsingdi, Rajshahi Jute Mills Ltd in Rajshahi, and Jatio Jute Mills Ltd in Sirajganj.
There are pending cases and some procedural complexities over the remaining eight mills, but those will also be leased out in a second phase.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)
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