Tk 9 cr govt cold storage up for sale at Tk 45 lakh

Kalaroa Ice and Cold Storage having assets worth about Tk 9 crore is being disposed of at Tk 42 lakh, they said.

Set up in 1980s with a Shilpa Bank loan of Tk three crore, it has now a bank loan of Tk 9 crore, the sources said.

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As its owner--Jatiya Party leader Sheikh Maniruzzaman-- became a loan defaulter, the bank filed a money suit with Artha Rin Adalat, Satkhira for realising the outstanding loan. The court in its verdict in 2003 empowered the Shilpa Bank to sell the cold storage through a tender to realise the loan.

The bank floated a tender for the second time on August 16 in a national daily as the first bidding failed to draw a reasonable number of bidders. Three firms participated in the second bidding.

According to sources, Alhaj Jalal Uddin offered at Tk 42 lakh, M/s Kazi Foods Tk 36 lakh and Bangladesh Fine Leather Processing Ltd offered Tk 24,04,000.

As per rules, if the first and second tender bid fails to draw the required number of bidders, a third bidding should be invited. But it was not done.

Some vested quarters in the bank are now preparing to sell the cold storage to Alhaj Jalal Uddin. According to sources, a report has been submitted to the tender board to accept the bid.

"If the authorities accept the bid, government will incur a heavy losses", said a source.

When contacted over cell phone, Abdul Hannan Deputy general manager of the Shilpa Bank, said he submitted a report to higher authorities in the first week of this month. The tender board will take a decision, he added.

Asked on what consideration he approved sale of a Tk 9 crore property at only Tk 42 lakh, he said this is the highest price offered so far.

He could not give any satisfactory reply to a question why bids were not invited for the third time as per rule.

Sources claimed that Alhaj Jalal Uddin who offered Tk 42 lakh enjoys blessings from the local lawmaker.