Hunt launched to select SEZ site for knitwear factories
FE Report

A World Bank private sector arm and knitwear manufacturers Sunday launched a joint move to set up a special economic zone to house increasing number of factories in the fast booming export sector.
Bangladesh Knitwear Manufactures and Exporters Association (BKMEA) said it started a feasibility study on Sunday, which would determine the site and the starting time of the SEZ.
The Bangladesh Investment Climate Fund (BICF), a wing of World Bank's International Finance Corporation, would conduct the study on behalf of the association and it would take eight months to complete site selection, officials said.
The move comes as new entrepreneurs have been struggling to find suitable places to set up their factories, forcing some to damage fertile agriculture land or destroy forests to make rooms for new industrial units.
According to the BKMEA, in the last three years on an average some 300 factories have been set up annually, as knitwear such as T-shirts and sweater emerged as the top exporting items in the country's apparel sector.
"Many factories approach us for new sites but we cannot do much to help them. The SEZ would house at least 100 new factories, benefiting new entrepreneurs with sorts of facilities," the official said.
He said the SEZ would help BKMEA to achieve its vision to make Bangladesh the number one knitwear exporting country in the world by 2020.
Currently, Bangladesh stands third among the global knitwear exporters, after China and Turkey. The country last year exported knitted items worth US$5.7 billion, up over 21 percent than the previous year.
"Thanks to the massive export growth, in the past 10 years investment in knitwear factories has been expanding by 20 per cent annually," he said citing association statistics.
BKMEA has primarily selected seven districts for the SEZ, which will be established on around 500 acres of land having equipped with all utilities and industry support facilities.
The seven districts are Narayanganj, Munshiganj, Manikganj, Tangail, Sirajganj, Mymensing and Chittagong.
Officials of BKMEA and BIFC visited Munshiganj district on Sunday and identified four possible sites for the SEZ, Martin Norman, BIFC programme manager for the SEZ, said.
"These are all very good sites for the proposed SEZ. But we won't make the final selection before completing the pre-feasibility study," he said.
Mr Martin said the pre-feasibility study would be continued through December.
BKMEA officials said after the final selection for the knit village, they would appeal to the government for land acquisition and setting up utility connections.
A five star hotel, a central power station, a mosque, community center, school, college, playground, park, dormitories of the workers and a day care centre will also be established in the knit village, the BKMEA official said.
He said an effluent treatment plant (ETP) would also be constructed inside the zone so the factories don't discharge industrial waste to the nearby river or water body.
A training institute would also be made for increasing efficiency of the workers.
"We are confident the SEZ would be able to provide a environment-friendly atmosphere to the investors including the foreigners. It will be a big boost to our export and competitiveness," he said.