With planned employment for 7,607 Bangladeshi workers through the investment, as well as Bepza’s potential takeover of the Savar tannery estate, this signals accelerating industrial growth in Mirsharai which may attract further foreign and domestic investment.
The agreements, signed on November 6 at the Bepza Complex in Dhaka, involve three fully foreign‐owned firms and one Bangladeshi firm. The new ventures will cover footwear, leather processing, testing services and garment accessories.
Chinese‐owned Tai Ma Shoes (BD) C. will invest US$55.05 million to build a footwear plant capable of producing seven million pairs annually, creating 5,900 jobs. Singapore‐based Bangladesh Songshin Leather Co. will invest US$25.03 million for a leather processing plant producing 36 million sq ft of finished leather annually and generating 480 jobs. China–Singapore joint venture Annray Holding (BD) Co. will invest US$20.03 million for a testing laboratory servicing raw materials and finished products, employing 770 staff. Bangladeshi company Wraptox Industries Limited will invest US$11.15 million to manufacture garment accessories including labels, tags, tapes, printing and packaging materials, with a 20,000 tonne per-year capacity and 457 jobs.
Bepza Executive Chairman Major General Mohammad Moazzem Hossain thanked the investors for choosing the zone and reiterated the agency’s round-the-clock support commitment and ongoing service modernisation. He urged the companies to begin construction and export operations without delay.
Investment‐promotion Member Md Ashraful Kabir also called on Chinese investors to consider Bepza’s upcoming zones in Jashore and Patuakhali, which are being developed as next-generation industrial hubs.
Source: The Financial Express
