Office space to beef up factory inspections on way
The government yesterday approved a project for setting up offices for the Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishment in nine districts and modernising the state-run factory inspection authority.
The government will spend an estimated Tk 72.5 crore for the project, which would be implemented by the labour and employment ministry.
Under the project, offices of the factory inspection will be erected in Gazipur, Narayanganj, Barisal, Moulvibazar, Rangpur, Mymensingh, Faridpur and Comilla districts.
At present, the department's activities are constrained by the lack of office space at the district level; it has to run its activities on rented houses.
The government took up the project in January last year, after a deadly fire in Tazreen Fashions killed at least 112 garment workers, in a bid to beef up inspection and monitoring of industrial activities.
The collapse of Rana Plaza building last year also highlighted holes in the country's inspection system.
The labour ministry's project is one of the seven projects approved yesterday by the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec), the highest policy-making body of the government.
The seven projects will be implemented at an estimated cost of Tk 1,353.46 crore. Of the cost, the government will provide Tk 1,102.64 crore and the rest will come from the implementing agencies of those projects.
The Ecnec approved the Ashuganj-Vulta 400kv Transmission Line Project at an estimated cost of Tk 853.68 crore.
The government has allocated Tk 38.40 crore for setting up of a fashion, design and training institute for the handloom industry.
Other projects include setting up of 60 investigation centres for police and the renovation and modernisation of the Bangladesh Institute of Marine Technology.
The government also increased allocation for a project aimed at setting up 37 hostels for visually challenged children in 37 districts. The project will cost Tk 54.93 crore.
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