DHAKA, 21 March 2006 — A “garment village” will be set up along the River Dhaleshwari in eastern Narayanganj district with financial assistance from the World Bank.
Bangladesh government and the World Bank are likely to sign a deal to this effect by June this year under which the bank will provide $150 million to develop infrastructure for the proposed village.
“I hope we will reach an agreement by June,” executive chairman of the Board of Investment Mahmudur Rahman told reporters after a meeting with leaders of the Bangladesh Garments Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) at his office in Dhaka.
“If the deal is signed by June, another two or three years will be required to develop the infrastructure and utility facilities,” Mahmud said. He said initial negotiations with the World Bank have been completed. “Developing the garment village will not only boost the growth of the apparel industry but also ease pressure on residential areas of Dhaka,” he said.
Meanwhile, industry officials said yesterday Bangladeshi garment factories that lock exits are to face new penalties after a fire last month killed 51 workers.
Twelve inspection teams set up by the BGMEA would conduct spot visits as part of an industry drive to put its house in order or face losing orders to other countries, said the body’s acting president Abdus Salam Morshedi.
Failure to comply would result in fines of up to 50,000 taka ($790) and possible expulsion from the association.
Any factory without at least two fire escapes would also be ordered to install new ones within 45 days, he added.
Morshedi said factories with poor safety standards were putting both employees and the industry in danger. Textiles are Bangladesh’s biggest export, bringing in nearly 80 percent of all foreign exchange earnings.
“Where factories are not keeping up proper safety regulations, foreign companies are not placing orders,” he said.
“Every year, companies send teams of people and where they do not like what they see they are moving their business to places like Vietnam, India and Pakistan. Factory owners must take this issue seriously,” he added.
Inspection teams would also be looking at the way buildings had been constructed after a factory collapse near Dhaka last year in which 73 people died. The factory had been built without planning permission on marshland.
Last month a fire at a locked factory in southern Bangladesh killed 51 people and injured more than a hundred.
Locking factory doors to prevent theft is common practice. Bangladesh is home to some 4,000 textile factories which have been plagued by accidents due to poor safety standards.
In November 2000, at least 48 workers died and more than 150 were injured when they were trapped in a burning factory near Dhaka due to a locked fire exit.
