Prime Minister Tarique Rahman has directed the authorities concerned to simplify the project approval process in order to attract both local and foreign investors.
He also assured support for investors who are genuinely interested in investing in long-closed government-run factories.
The directives came during a meeting held at the Cabinet Division office in the Bangladesh Secretariat in Dhaka. The meeting reviewed the current condition of closed factories under the Textiles and Jute Ministry and discussed steps needed to reopen them, according to the Prime Minister’s Press Wing.
At the meeting, the Prime Minister said the government is committed to creating an investment-friendly environment and stressed the need to remove existing complications in the investment process.
Officials present at the meeting said delays in project approval reduce the interest of both local and foreign investors. They also pointed out that taking permission from multiple departments creates major obstacles.
In response, the Prime Minister instructed that the approval process be made simpler and faster. He also said that approvals from ministries or departments that are not essential should be removed from the process.
He further emphasised the need to ensure easier access to loans to encourage private investment in closed state-owned factories and asked the concerned ministers to take immediate steps.
Among others present at the meeting were Commerce, Industry, Textiles and Jute Minister Khandaker Abdul Muktadir Chowdhury, Political and Industrial Adviser Ruhul Kabir Rizvi, Finance and Planning Adviser Rashed Al Mahmud Titumir, State Minister for Textiles and Jute Shariful Alam, Principal Secretary ABM Abdus Sattar, Executive Chairman of Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA) Chowdhury Ashik Mahmud Bin Harun, Chairman of Bangladesh Textile Mills Corporation (BTMC) Brigadier General SM Zahid Hassan, and Chairman of Bangladesh Jute Mills Corporation (BJMC) Brigadier General Md. Kabir Uddin Sikder.