Existing units on the industrial estates belonging to Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industries Corporation (BSCIC) generated employment for 14,724 people, both male and female, during the first nine months of the current fiscal.

The people got the jobs in various fields like enterprise development, skill development and training, industry ownership transfer and establishment of new industries. There are 1,027 units on 2,481 allocated plots in 19 industrial estates in around 471.28 acres of land in the country’s northwest region consisting of all 16 districts under Rajshahi and Rangpur divisions at present.

Rezaul Alam Sarkar, Regional Director of BSCIC, told BSS that 908 of the units remained functioning with 45,836 workers and the entrepreneurs invested Taka 4,250.03 crore in the units.

Many of the nationwide famous industrial establishments, particularly Square Pharmaceuticals in Pabna and RFL in Rangpur, are continuing productive activities contributing a lot to the nation in terms of meeting demands of the consumers in general.

Several silk-clothes manufacturing units earned reputations for their quality products. They expect that there would be no more sick industry in the estates. Terming the BSCIC industrial area viable for any small and medium industry, Liakat Ali, president of Bangladesh Silk Industries Owners Association, said the entrepreneurs are making profits.

BSCIC Regional Director Rezaul Sarkar said they are continuing training activities on various trades in their four skill development training centres aimed at accelerating skills of the entrepreneurs.

He also said construction works of 62 more units are progressing fast. Revenues worth around Taka 104.46 crore as various utility services, including land development taxes, have, so far, been realised till March last.

“We have distributed Taka 438.30 crore among 5,594 entrepreneurs as cottage, micro, small and medium enterprise (CMSME) loans,” he said, adding 619 other entrepreneurs received Taka 10.19 crore as Bangabandhu Youth loans.

The government announced the bailout package for the CMSME sector with an aim to help the stakeholders overcome the Covid-19 fallout.