Jute mills to be revived by PPP initiatives

The government will bring an end to the vulnerable situation public jute mills are in by running those under the public private partnership (PPP) model.

It will also use the model in building shopping malls, five-star hotels and medical colleges on unused lands of Bangladesh Railway and in modernising Railway General Hospital.

These were declared by Finance Minister AMA Muhith in his budget statement yesterday.

Bangladesh Jute Mills Corporation faced a loss of Tk 180 crore in the current fiscal year while the prime minister considers it to be a "disabled child" of the state.

Muhith said to have retained Tk 3,000 crore as allocation for PPP initiatives for the next fiscal year.

He had allocated Tk 2,000 for PPP projects and to provide financial assistance to various industries in the current fiscal year but none of it has been spent.

This has been happening over the years.

The government formulated a PPP policy and set up an office in 2010. The office began operation in January 2012. The government enacted the PPP law and established an authority under it in 2015.

At present, the PPP office is said to have 48 projects in hand involving $12.6 billion.

Of the projects, 10 involving $2.9 billion have been signed with different private firms while 26 are in different stages of development – the tender process ongoing for 10 and feasibility studies ongoing for 11, said Md Abul Bashar, director of the PPP office.

He said they have an allocation of Tk 2,500 crore in hand to fund the PPP projects.