How short-sightedness bedevils industrial development

Accusing fingers were raised from some quarters at the three devastating fire incidents at Shialbari, Mirpur, Chittagong Export Process Zone (CEPZ) and the cargo village of Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA) within a span of just five days. They found the bogey of sabotage. Such premature conclusion without ever going deep into the origin of the three incidents of fire acts as a naive attempt at shifting the focus from the endemic problems of violation of rules and laws and the general ill preparation for such disasters. 

At no point was the four-storey garment factory in Mirpur responsible for the tragic fire that claimed lives of its 16 workers. It was the illegal chemical warehouse adjacent to the RMG factory that made a perfect setting for a tragedy of this order. So noxious were some stored chemicals that the vicious smell emitting from the godown could be felt after three days! This defies any sabotage theory. 

The CEPZ disaster was also the RMG factory's own making. Not only did it reportedly violate the building code but also dilly-dallied with the procurement of the fire safety certificate. When factories and industries circumvent key legal provisions in order to maximise profits, such disasters are most likely to happen. 

If these two incidents of fire take place in private industrial facilities, the cargo village fire at the prime international airport of the country exposes the mindless arrangement of temporary storage of sensitive and inflammable substances such as chemicals. That a disaster did not happen much earlier is itself a bit of luck. When the governing motive ought to be effective and efficient cargo control in order to sustain the supply chain in this globalised trade regime, the HSIA has been negligent of equipping the cargo storing facilities irrespective of export or import with advanced and high sensory devices. 

High-resolution X-ray scanners, explosive detection system and spectral technique help detect threats fast and precisely. Even a more advanced combined imaging technique called fast neutron and gamma ray radiography (FNGR) has been introduced to state-of-the-art airports for scanning air cargo. At a time when commodities cross continents quickly, delay in handling at HSIA cargo terminals has its domino effects not only on the production and delivery systems of local factories and industries but also on the global trade. The importers of high-value raw materials are also the exporters of finished goods to Western markets. So any estimate of the losses incurred by importers of raw materials for use as ingredients for their products will fall short of the overall negative impacts. 

The temporary web portal opened by the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) has received responses from 1,300 members by Tuesday. They claim damages to the tune of $7.5 million which amount is sure to rise with more respondents presenting the amount of losses they suffered. Now that the section reserved for imported goods at the cargo village has been completely gutted, a small space of the export section is used to store imported goods. But the 550 tonnes of cargo that arrive daily is beyond accommodation at that designated space. So the importers are forced to halt their import and priority consignments are now stuck at Dubai and Singapore airports. 

This is double whammy for factory owners and industrialists. First, their imported goods have been destroyed by the fire and now they cannot take delivery of their consignments because of space constraints. Its impact will be felt on the production and supply lines. The pharmaceutical industry, according to the Bangladesh Association of Pharmaceutical Industries (BAPI), is likely to face an impact of $40 billion because of the destruction of active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) at the cargo village and the delay in arrival of fresh consignments. It is quite revealing that 97 per cent of drugs are produced by the local pharmaceutical industry but 90 per cent of APIs have to be imported from abroad, mostly China and India. 

The National API and Laboratory Reagents Production and Export Policy was introduced in 2018 with the aim of achieving self-sufficiency in API. A slew of incentives such as fiscal and financial benefits like tax holidays and exemptions, export-oriented support in the form of cash incentives and subsidies and operational advantages covering preferential land access and extended loan terms was declared. But little progress was made in API production at the industrial park in Munshiganj. Only one drug company could go into limited operation and two others were waiting for approval as of 2024. In 2025, the 216-acre industrial park could not add anything to its credit. 

Had the API industrial estate maintained its schedule, there would be no such disruption of the supply chain with drastic fall in import. The colossal losses incurred by importers were certainly avoidable. There is a national tendency of unlearning the proverbial principle that a stitch in time saves nine. But here is more at stake. The safety and security issues have never been high on the agenda. This is exactly why the premier airport of the country can overlook the need for storing chemical and other inflammable materials in separate chambers after inspection with advanced devices. The raw materials for pharmaceutical industry even demand cooling ecosystem of minus temperatures. A comprehensive outlook of infrastructure development at the API industrial park against the backdrop of the 90 per cent import could kick-start production at the facility. In the absence of gas supply and other problems the industrial park could not turn into an API hub. An 11-member committee was formed and charged with the responsibility of suggesting recommendations aimed at developing the API industry. But the committee has failed to submit its report even after a month beyond the deadline. This shows how the tunnel vision of policymakers makes matters complicated. If the mismatch, irregularities and outright violation of laws in the industrial sector are not addressed and opportunities for developing local industries such as the API seized, this country will continue to pay heavy prices for the lapses.

nilratanhalder2000@yahoo.com