Kalurghat industrial hub awaits a push
Kalurghat area in the port city has grown up as a rapidly expanding industrial area in the country. Different industries were set up there after the independence of Bangladesh. Although the area has become a centre of industrial activities, it is yet to flourish due to various bottlenecks -- insufficient gas and power, poor infrastructure and dilapidated roads and transportation system.
Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industries Corporation (BSCIC) established an industrial area on a 12-acre stretch of land there in 1980. A good number of renowned industrial groups also set up their factories in the area after BSCIC.
Of the 4,000 factories in Chittagong, around 1,200 heavy industrial units have been set up in Kalurghat area in different times, according to data of Chittagong Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The industries are clustered into three zones: Kalurghat BSCIC and heavy industrial area, Kalurghat-Mohora industrial area and Kalurghat-Boalkhali industrial area.
Kalurghat-Boalkhali industrial area flourished on the eastern bank of the river Karnaphuli.
Since the Pakistani regime, the area has been built up gradually as an industrial hub, thanks to the river Karnaphuli. In early 1960s, few factories of local industrialists, some small and cottage industries and some multinational companies like Lever Brothers Pakistan Ltd signed up there.
Local businessmen think it was mainly the river Karnaphuli that encouraged local and international traders to set up industries here. Over the years, with changing modes of transportation, the Karnaphuli has lost its importance to a large extent, but setting up new industries there never stopped. Private entrepreneurs have gradually transformed the zone into an international industrial hub.
Some of the global multinational companies present in Kalurghat area are: Pepsi-Cola, Coca-Cola, Unilever Bangladesh and Berger Bangladesh Ltd. Among the leading local industries are garments, pharmaceuticals and cement factories, and container depots.
Although the state-owned BSCIC failed to fully flourish in the area, many heavy industries from the private sector came up with rapid expansion without any help from the government. All successive governments neglected the area although it has been contributing considerable revenues to the state exchequer.
Businessmen said they could not go for full production due to a shortage of gas and power. Some of their industrial units get only 5megawatt (MW) of electricity although 15MW is allotted for them, depending on the size of their plants, they added.
Md Mohiuddin Chowdhury, project director of TK Chemical Complex in Kalurghat-Boalkhali area, said his company got an allotment for 15MW of power for its production. “But we had to remain satisfied with only 5MW. The same thing happened in case of gas supply also.”
Apart from gas and electricity shortages, Kalurghat industrial area faces problem with transportation. The roads of Kalurghat BSCIC industrial estate and heavy industrial area are in a dilapidated state. Thousands of vehicles use the potholed roads daily for transporting goods and workers, amid heavy risks.
Anup Kumar Das, executive director of Azim Group, said, though Kalurghat is a prominent industrial hub in Bangladesh, the industrialists here are struggling with the hazards of the local roads. Foreign buyers become frustrated seeing the precarious state of the roads, Das added.
The condition of the roads worsens during heavy rains, he said, adding that most of the areas go under water when the Karnaphuli overflows in the rainy season. All these create problems to local businessmen, as vehicle-operators then demand 40 percent to 50 percent higher charges, Das said.
Some industry owners carried out essential repairs of the roads at their own costs.
Md Shahabuddin, personal services manager of Unilever Bangladesh Ltd, said over the years the beds of the Karnaphuli and its connecting canals have been filled up with sediments. These beds and canals require quick dredging to regain their navigability.
Most of the industrialists said they have filed repeated complaints to the authorities concerned, but got no results so far.
On such complaints, Abdus Salam, chairman of Chittagong Development Authority, said the authorities are trying to improve the condition of the roads. He said the industries ministry has already initiated a development work worth Tk 4 crore in the BSCIC area.
About solving the water-logging problem, Shamsuddoha, secretary of Chittagong City Corporation (CCC), said the port authorities have already taken up a capital dredging project for improving the navigability of the river. Meanwhile, the CCC also decided to dredge various city canals, he added.
Local industrialists believe that Kalurghat industrial area has all the prospects to establish itself as an international industrial hub. To attract foreign and local investors, it is necessary to make the zone industry-friendly and its environment should be like those at the export processing zones, they said.
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