Bangladesh army did not limit its business efforts only by initiating new businesses but also doing acquisition of loss-incurring state industries through privatisation board, said a BBC radio documentary yesterday.
The army came forward to acquire Bangladesh Machine Tools Factory (BMTF) Ltd when the government was planning to privatise lose-incurring state industries, including the factory, under privatisation policy.
In addition to providing infrastructures and huge pieces of land, the government also invested over Tk 500 crore after handing it over to the army.
According to the gazette notification published on June 1, 2000, the government handed over the BMTF, situated on 153.47 acres of land, to the army as they showed their eagerness.
Following their interest, the government handed over a total of 247.6 acres of land including the BMTF industry to the army adding land of railway, said the seventh episode of the nine-part documentary titled "Fouji Banijjo" (Military in business).
Though BMTF was supposed to run as a company with the existing set up unaltered, army authorities are running the organisation establishing three other industries on the BMTF land.
The three industries are Bangladesh Footwear and Leather Products Ltd, Bangladesh Machine Tools Factory CNG Conversion Ltd and BMTF Training Institute.
One of the three organisations is being run as a joint venture with Trade Mutual Hong Kong, a registered organisation of Hong Kong. An expatriate retired army officer is the director of the company in Hong Kong, said the documentary.
Army claimed that BMTF, which initiated operation in 1980, had been a loss-incurring organisation earlier and army has turned it into a profitable one after the acquisition.
In 2008-2009, BMTF made a profit of Tk 8.22 crore, which is less than the income from savings interest of the investment made in the industry.
"Profit is not everything. It should be considered how much one profited against what investment," said former adviser and cabinet secretary Dr Akbar Ali Khan.
"We don't know clearly where our government invest money and what has been achieved through the investment. We don't have clear idea about the profit or loss," he added.
Though a portion of the 247.6 acres land was supposed to be given to Bangladesh Rifles later under Bangladesh Diesel Plant, the government handed it over to the army.
"My standing committee decided only to hand over BMTF to the army not the diesel plant. I don't know anything about the diesel plant,” said Lt Gen (retd) Mahbubur Rahman, chief of the then parliamentary standing committee.
"The more the army limits its activities within its own territory the more it will be skilled in its profession," he observed.
It seems that if any project bears the name of the army, both politician and bureaucrats handle the issue softly, the documentary said.