New garment village in Kalurghat in a year

A new apparel zone will be set up at Kalurghat in Chittagong to relocate the garment factories from the port city as well as house new units, said a top official yesterday.

The Chittagong City Corporation (CCC) and Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) will sign an agreement today to build the zone on at least 35 bighas of land.

A total of 11 buildings, six-storied each, would be constructed where some factories would be housed, said Siddiqur Rahman, president of BGMEA.

The CCC will construct the buildings, while the financing will come from the garment factory owners, he said.

The BGMEA chief could not immediately mention the amount of money that will be needed for the construction of the factory buildings and the number of factories it would house in the zone.

The CCC is scheduled to handover the buildings to the factory owners within a year, said Rahman.

The zone in Kalurghat is the separate initiative by CCC to build an industrial park dedicated to the garment factories.

Another garment village is expected to be constructed at Mireswarai in Chittagong. However, it is at very initial stages, said Rahman.

It was announced last year that the government would set up a separate garment village in Chittagong as the port city is vital to business. A Chinese firm is currently setting up a garment village in Bausia, Munshiganj at a cost of $2.3 billion to house more than 200 factories. Once these factories go into production, they will export goods worth $3-$5 billion a year.

Chittagong is considered a gateway to Bangladesh's exports, handling more than 90 percent of the country's international trade.