Sreemangal BSCIC estate draws just one factory in 7 years

A Tk 50 crore industrial estate in tea capital Sreemangal has remained almost abandoned for seven years, with high plot prices, a lack of basic utility services and administrative complications keeping investors away.

The 20-acre Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industries Corporation (BSCIC) Industrial Estate, built to support small and cottage industries in Moulvibazar, has fallen into disrepair. Electric transformers have been stolen, gas lines stripped away, and thick vegetation has overtaken its roads.

Although the estate was completed in 2019, only one factory, Ashad Agro Food, has begun operations there.

“We were promised gas, electricity, and security, but none of these has been materialised,” said an official of the factory on condition of anonymity.

“After making a significant investment, we are now trapped. We can neither leave nor fully begin operations. We have been forced to run on a limited scale. Their promises are only on paper,” he added.

According to official data, the project was taken up in 2012. Subsequently, construction began in 2016, and the infrastructure was completed by 2019.

The Tk 50 crore project at Uttarsur in Sreemangal upazila included an administrative building, residential quarters, a pump house, a gas substation, a pond and paved internal roads.

The estate was designed to accommodate 122 plots in three categories: Category A (60x100 sq ft), Category B (45x90 sq ft) and Category S (3,800 to 8,100 sq ft). All plots were priced at Tk 799.51 per square foot under a 99-year lease.

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The intention of the project was to create opportunities for local entrepreneurs in the tea-growing upazila to establish small and cottage industries.

At the current rate, land inside the estate costs around Tk 3.48 lakh per decimal (one decimal equal to 435.6 square feet). Local businesspeople say the rate is much higher than current land prices in surrounding areas.

So far, 56 of the 122 plots have been allocated, most of them to entrepreneurs from outside Moulvibazar.

Pulak Sutradhar, a local businessman, said land inside the estate costs about three times more than plots outside it. “I purchased plots outside the BSCIC estate at a lower cost and built my factory there instead.”

Shafiqul Islam, another investor from Moulvibazar, said land prices inside the estate are two to three times higher than market rates. He said the estate has also failed to provide adequate facilities, discouraging new investors.

Meanwhile, several plot owners have withdrawn after finding no basic utility services.

For instance, Miftaul Islam, an entrepreneur, returned his plot after discovering there were no utility connections.

Another investor said he handed back two allotted plots after years of inactivity, but has yet to receive a full refund because of administrative complications.

Kamal Mia, general secretary of Sreemangal Traders Association, said plot prices must be reduced and utility services restored to make the estate functional.

“Without electricity or gas, no entrepreneur can be expected to commit,” he said.

Mohammad Munayam Oyas, an additional officer at Sreemangal BSCIC, said authorities have informed higher officials about the stolen transformers and gas lines.

“We hope the necessary infrastructure will be restored soon. Besides, initiatives are underway to attract new industries,” he added.