Industrialists yesterday urged the government to lease out lands of closed or loss-making state mills but Industries Minister Amir Hossain Amu ruled out the possibility.

“We can go for public-private partnership if you want. But the government has no intention to sell-off or lease out lands,” Amu said at a dialogue on the country's industrial policy.

The event was organised by the International Chamber of Commerce Bangladesh at the Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry ahead of the finalisation of the industrial policy of 2015.

Amu said tenders have already been floated to run Dhaka Leather Company Ltd, a government-owned company, under a public-private partnership. Some companies have shown interest in it.

The government decided in 2014 to place Dhaka Leather Company under PPP in a bid to get rid of its huge liabilities and losses in the past 15 years. “If you want, we can go for such partnership for other mills,” he said, while citing the closed Khulna Newsprint Mills as a candidate for such tie-ups. “We are open to such proposals.”

Earlier, Mahbubur Rahman, president of ICCB, said the government-owned companies have huge unutilised lands with the necessary infrastructure.

He advised Amu to include a proposal in the upcoming industrial policy to sell off the surplus lands of these industrial units to the private sector.

Rahman said Bangladesh has been deprived of foreign direct investment and large domestic investment for factors such as the limited capacity to supply adequate electricity and gas to industrial units.

The shortage of appropriate land with access to infrastructure and communication is a major constraint to industrialisation, he said, adding that many are using agricultural lands for industrial purposes.

“It is an ominous sign. We have very limited land and if we allow the agricultural lands for industries, a day may come when we will have to import rice.”

Rahman cited the bureaucratic complexities for starting a business, the differences in policy implementation with the change in government, the absence of administrative coordination among different government agencies and delayed services from support organisations as bottlenecks to faster industrialisation.

Subsequently, he called for a functional one-stop investment-friendly service centre.

Without a solid industrial base, adequate infrastructure, uninterrupted power supply, exploration of natural resources, skilled workforce, it will be difficult to sustain the present growth momentum or even achieve higher growth, according to Rahman.

AK Azad, managing director of Ha-Meem Group, said the draft industrial policy aims to increase the industrial sector's contribution to GDP to 40 percent by 2021 from 29 percent now.

He also urged the government to transfer the land of the closed and loss-making state mills to the private sector to set up factories.

“Give us gas, electricity and land and we will make these areas profitable. It is our responsibility.”

Citing the government initiative to set up special economic zones, he said there is no tentative deadline by which the SEZs will be ready for use.

At the dialogue, it was told that the government had taken up schemes to develop 17 SEZs.

“There should be a timeframe for completion of each of the SEZs and the schedule for land allocation so that we can prepare ourselves,” said Azad, who is also a former president of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry.

Mir Nasir Hossain, managing director of Mir Akhter Hossain Ltd, said SEZs should be developed in a full-fledged manner such that industries get all the requisite utilities and facilities.

“These should be done properly so that we get lands. There should not be any discrimination,” said Hossain, also a former FBCCI president.

Citing the losses of the state enterprises and the subsidy pressure on the state coffers for them, he said: “These are bleeding the economy.”

He also called for developing human resources in line with the need of the various industrial sectors.

Hossain also cited the lack of information in Bangladesh regarding the industries operating in various sectors.

“As a result, we saw a mushrooming growth of factories in certain sectors and many of those have become sick due to the overcapacity of the sector.”

Subsequently, Hossain suggested the industries ministry develop a database of factories, production capacities and demand. The database would then serve as a guide for entrepreneurs when making investment decisions.

Matiur Rahman, president of the Newspaper Owners' Association of Bangladesh, said the government tried to run some state mills by taking them back from the private sector. The government lost hundreds of crores as a result.

“It was a totally wrong decision then and it will not be a right one in future either,” said Rahman, also the editor of the Prothom Alo.

Asif Ibrahim, chairman of the Business Initiative Leading Development, said there should be a one-stop service at the industries ministry to provide assistance to entrepreneurs.

Citing the various definitions for small and medium enterprises maintained by the government agencies, he called for a uniform definition.