Even after 16 years, no factory has been opened in the pharmaceutical park

The construction of the pharmaceutical industry park at Ghazaria in Munshiganj was completed in July 2021. Although the construction work has been completed, gas connection has not yet been provided there. Also, the construction of the Central Effluent Treatment Plant or CETP at the industrial park has not been completed. Apart from this there are financial crisis and administrative complications in investment. Due to these reasons, the industrial owners of this sector are not taking the initiative to set up new factories in the pharmaceutical industrial park. Those who have made factories, they are also not able to go to production.

However, the Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industries Corporation (BCIC), which is in charge of the pharmaceutical park, said that the gas connection will reach the industrial park in the next one to one and a half months. They will then negotiate with companies to quickly set up factories and start production.

In 2008, the government took the initiative to set up an Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient (API) or Pharmaceutical Industry Park aimed at producing pharmaceutical raw materials in the country. BCIC was entrusted with the responsibility of implementing the project. Its construction started in 2008. Later, the project officially ended in 2021 after four phases of extension. However, it was inaugurated in 2018 before the work was fully completed. Construction took 13 years from start to finish. After that three more years passed but gas connection was not given. Altogether the duration of the project has been 16 years. Although the project was initially said to be completed within two years. However, even in 16 years, no factory has started production in this industrial park.

No gas connection

Titus Gas is working on gas connection at API Industrial Park. BCIC officials said that Titus has installed a gas pipeline of about eight kilometers from Ghazaria in Munshiganj to Abdul Monem Economic Zone. This pipeline is supposed to supply gas to the pharmaceutical park. But Titus is now working on restoring the line due to the error. Due to this, gas connection is still not available.

An official of Titus said on condition of anonymity, five kilometers out of the eight kilometers of the pipeline have already been completed. In the rest there are some places like houses and water bodies. Because of this it takes some extra time. The laying of the pipeline will be completed by March.

The response to setting up factories is low

According to BSIC sources, there are a total of 42 plots in the industrial park, which have been allotted to 27 industrial establishments. But so far only four companies have set up factories. They are Acme Laboratories, Healthcare Pharmaceuticals, Ibn Sina Pharmaceuticals and Unimaid-UniHealth Fine Chemicals. Even though there are factories, these companies are still unable to go into production due to lack of gas connection. And the rest of the companies have not yet started the construction of factories.

BCIC chairman Sanjay Kumar Bhowmik said, "We will soon discuss with those who have not yet started the factory work. The gas will go there in the next one to one-and-a-half months. As a result, there is no opportunity to show. The reason for not getting gas connection.

Secretary General of Bangladesh Pharmaceutical Industries Association and Managing Director (MD) of Hudson Pharmaceuticals SM Shafiuzzaman told Prothom Alo that most of the entrepreneurs could not set up factories due to the long process of gas connection in Shilpapark. And many companies in the pharmaceutical sector are currently under financial pressure. Due to this the pace of setting up factories is slow.

OSS wants institutions

The owners of the pharmaceutical industry say that separate permission is required from different organizations for setting up factories and manufacturing in this sector. While doing such work, they fall under the bureaucratic red tape.

Acme Laboratories has set up a factory on about 9 acres of land in the Pharmaceutical Industry Park. The company can start production in July after getting gas connection. Sheikh Maksudur Rahman, director of Ekmi Laboratories said, we want to start production in the factory following all the rules. However, one door service (OSS) has to be introduced for the approval of various organizations at various stages of production starting from factory construction.