The government has leased three closed state-owned jute mills to two private companies to restart them. PRAN-RFL Group and Hamco Group signed the agreements with the Bangladesh Jute Mills Corporation on Tuesday. Prime Minister Tarique Rahman attended the event, according to the Prime Minister’s Press Wing.
Under the agreements, PRAN-RFL Group leased National Jute Mills Limited in Sirajganj and Star Jute Mills Limited in Khulna, while Hamco Group leased Platinum Jubilee Jute Mills Limited. BJMC chairman Brigadier General Mohammad Kabir Uddin Sikder signed for BJMC; company secretary Aminur Rahman signed for PRAN-RFL Group and managing director ATM Mostafa for Hamco Group.
The three mills, which have been closed for a long time, will restart under private management. Their reopening is expected to create at least 11,629 jobs, with projected annual turnover of about 11.75 billion taka.
The event heard that the government has decided to restart 20 of BJMC’s 25 non-operating mills under private leases. Leases for 14 mills have already been completed and possession transferred to the operators; production has begun at nine of them.
Commerce, industries, and textiles and jute minister Khandaker Abdul Muktadir, textiles and jute state minister Shariful Alam, secretary Sharif Uddin Ahmed Chowdhury and senior officials of BJMC and the leaseholders attended.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report