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Most of the 121.4 hectares of land has been filled with sand and workers are constructing a boundary wall around this expansive space, reports bdnews24.com.
The foundation for the boundary wall on the north side has been laid, with iron columns already cast and placed. The workers have been constructing the boundary wall since December, and they estimate it will take a year to complete the enclosure.
Although the implementing agency, Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industries Corporation or BSCIC, hopes that plots will be allocated by the end of next year, chemical merchants remain sceptical.
Several devastating blazes fuelled by chemical warehouses and factories in Old Dhaka shocked
Bangladesh in the past one and a half decades. The tragedies forced the government to take steps to remove the chemical warehouses and factories from the congested area.
After the deaths of 124 people in the 2010 fire fuelled by chemicals stored at a warehouse in Nimtali, the government identified a place in Keraniganj to relocate the warehouses and factories.
The industrial park is under construction with an outlay of nearly Tk 15 billion in a bid to relocate the chemical industries and godowns of Old Dhaka into an environment-friendly place next to the Dhaka-Nawabganj regional road, 20 km away from Dhaka’s Zero Point.
The project planned to be built in Kamarkhanda, Chitrakot and Goalkhali was said to have 1,843 plots for the traders, with the Ichhamati River to the east and the Dhaleswari nearby.
During a recent visit to the site, bdnews24.com noticed ongoing construction of demarcating walls on one side, with the work to fill some parts also in progress.
Mizanur Rahman, a worker, said they have been laying bases and columns for the last one and a half months.
They will install a total of 4,500 iron columns, and completing the entire boundary wall will take a year.
Project officials admitted there was a lot of work remaining to finish the entire project.
As a result, despite the long history of fires and accidents in Old Dhaka, the wait for a chemical industrial village or park continues.
PROJECT DELAYS
Initially, the project was planned to be built on a 20.23 hectares piece of land in Keraniganj.
The project, ‘BSCIC Chemical Palli, Dhaka’, was approved by the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council or ECNEC on Oct 30, 2018. The Tk 2.01 billion project to be built in south Keraniganj was planned to have 936 plots.
That project was amended following the Churihatta fire in 2019 and BSCIC sent a proposal to the industries ministry on Apr 18 that year to construct the ‘BSCIC Industrial Park, Munshiganj’ in Sirajdikhan. The project was said to have 2,154 plots in it.
On Apr 30, 2019, the ECNEC approved the first revision of the BSCIC Chemical Industrial Park project on around 125.5 hectares of land with a cost of Tk 16.16 billion to relocate the chemical industries and godowns to Munshiganj’s Sirajdikhan.
The project received administrative approval from the Ministry of Industries on Jun 12 of that year with a plan to create 1,843 plots for the merchants.
The plot count decreased because a 100 feet wide area along the roads, lakes, and riverbanks in the project area was left untouched.
The deadline for the project, worth Tk 15.16 billion, was set for June 2022.
It was extended for another two years as it could not be completed within the deadline.
On Feb 14 that year, the Bangladesh Planning Commission extended the project’s deadline to June 2024.
Narayanganj Dockyard was given a work order to fill the land in April 2021 after acquisition but only 60 percent of the job was done by June 2022, the time by which the project was scheduled to be implemented.
As of March 2024, the project's financial progress is at 62.73 per cent, and its physical progress is at 68 per cent. Land development stands at 82.23 per cent, while only 28.56 per cent of the boundary wall construction is complete.
However, merchants in the sector are not optimistic.
Nurul Mostafa, former president of the Bangladesh Chemical and Perfumery Merchant Association, expressed frustration, saying: "The government project is moving at a sluggish pace and is far from completion."
"It seems handing over the plots will take even longer. We won't know about relocation until after 2025."
The project's delay stemmed from the completion of land acquisition and filling tasks, BSCIC Chairman Sanjay Kumar Bhowmik told bdnews24.com.
He hopes both tasks will be completed this year.
Essential infrastructure like the BSCIC office and a fire service station will be constructed next year, according to him.
"We hope to allocate the plots by December 2025. Plot allocation is a straightforward process. The deputy commissioner will hold a meeting and allocate the plots."
TRADERS AWAIT PLOT ALLOCATION
Nazrul Islam Babu, president of the Bangladesh Chemical and Perfumery Merchant Association and a member of parliament, told bdnews24.com that traders were eagerly awaiting the handover of plots.
"Our people are ready to move in, but the work is not complete. I discussed the matter with Industries Minister Nurul Majid Mahmud Humayun. He referred to the ongoing land filling and said it would be ready soon. However, plots haven’t been allocated. Once allocated, we'll know when the chemical industry can relocate there."
Babu claimed that the 25 chemical substances marked as hazardous are no longer stored in Old Dhaka but have been moved to Keraniganj warehouses.
He also claimed that the traders in the Mitford Hospital area are not engaged in chemical business. The importers in the area have relocated from Mitford.
Therefore, he argued, the association will not take responsibility for anyone storing hazardous materials in Old Dhaka.
"We had a meeting during Ramadan and made it clear that we won't take responsibility for any flammable substances. If anyone unlawfully stores flammable materials, they'll be solely responsible for doing so."
LAKE AND SOLID WASTE INCINERATOR
The chemical industrial park project in Munshiganj includes a canal spread over 2.43 hectares of land to be used as a water reservoir.
Fire hydrants will be set up every 100 feet in the project area along with a fire station.
In addition to the central effluent treatment plant or ETP for managing the liquid waste, an incinerator will be installed to burn solid waste.
Project Director Muhammad Hafizur Rahman told bdnews24.com that plot allocation will begin in July. Simultaneously, other development tasks will continue.
"After the work to fill the land is completed, we will allocate plots. The allotment process will take about two to three months," said Hafizur.
He said factory owners would undertake development work after plot allocation.
"We will manage drainage and road construction. The drainage tender has been awarded, and the road tender will be announced now.”
Hafizur expects all tasks to be completed by December 2025, with an additional six months estimated for any unfinished work.