Govt to finalise handover of API park plots

The government has moved to complete the process of plot transfers at the Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient (API) Industrial Park in Gazaria upazila of Munshiganj, as part of efforts to streamline local API production and reduce import dependence.

The Ministry of Industries has issued a gazette notification outlining procedures for transferring plots under the "BSCIC Industrial City/Industrial Park Plot Allocation and Management Policy-2023," on July 10.

Speaking to The Daily Star on the matter, Md Saiful Islam, chairman of Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industries Corporation (BSCIC), said a list of industrial units interested in either transferring or acquiring plots will be prepared and finalised by the end of this month.

"No further plots will be allocated after this transfer process is complete," he added.

As per the new instructions, the transfer process will apply to the 27 industrial units currently allotted plots in the park.

The gazette states that companies looking to transfer or acquire plots must submit their interest by June 30, 2025. However, officials familiar with the matter said the time could be extended if necessary.

All outstanding dues of both the transferring and acquiring parties must be cleared on the date of application, it adds. After a transfer, the original owner may pay any remaining installments as per the existing schedule or in a lump sum.

Entrepreneurs will have until December 30, 2025, to complete transfers, mergers, or exchanges, subject to applicable BSCIC fees.

The government allocated 200 acres of land in Bausia along the Dhaka-Chattogram highway in 2008 for establishing the API Industrial Park, aimed at boosting domestic production of pharmaceutical raw materials.

Currently, Bangladesh sources around 85 percent of its required APIs from countries like China and India, costing about $1.3 billion annually.

Local production, however, has been picking up pace. At least six companies, including Square Pharmaceuticals and Incepta Pharmaceuticals, now produce APIs worth more than Tk 2,000 crore annually.

So far, four manufacturers — ACME Laboratories, Healthcare Pharmaceuticals, Ibn Sina Pharmaceutical, and UniMed-UniHealth Fine Chemicals — have set up factories and begun API production in the park, said Abdul Muktadir, managing director of Incepta Pharmaceuticals.

Muktadir said the industry still needs to import roughly 1,200 varieties of APIs from China, India, and South Korea to produce generic medicines.

"Big pharmaceutical firms like Incepta have already established their own API facilities, which have significant potential to develop proprietary molecules," he said.