BGMEA has written to the government seeking allotment of 200 acres of land for setting up garment factories in Jangal Salimpur area of Chittagong. However, the district administration is not willing to allocate any kind of land directly in favor of BGMEA. Rather, Chittagong Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Mominur Rahman informed about the policy decision to build a ‘green industry zone’ in the natural environment surrounded by mountains. According to Chittagong district administration sources, there is a total land of 3100 acres in five mauzas of Salimpur area of Sitakunda forest.
The letter of BGMEA given to the Deputy Commissioner on August 5 mentioned that, as a result of the demands of foreign buyers and the policy decisions of the Bangladesh government after the Rana Plaza accident, garment factories have emerged as a role model of safe factories in the world by ensuring the working environment as well as infrastructural and environmental safety. But while implementing this compliance, since 2013, nearly 50 percent of factories in Chittagong region have been closed. Yet many isolated factories, located in various rented buildings, are at risk of losing business to foreign buyers because they are unable to maintain compliance.
It is said in the letter, but these small and medium factories scattered in rented buildings in Chittagong city and surrounding areas are gathered in a specific zone and it is the demand of time to build compliance. For this, a total of 200 acres of land has been requested for setting up around 200 small and medium sized garment factories in Jungle Salimpur area of Chittagong as full compliance factories, one acre against each factory.
