An industrial park plagued by unrelenting delays

The pharmaceutical industry has been one of the success stories of Bangladesh's economy in recent years. It produces a substantial amount of medicine annually, thus contributing to our exports and employment. However, it is still heavily reliant on imported raw materials needed for drugs. So when a pharmaceutical industrial park in Gazaria, Munshiganj was inaugurated by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in 2018, it was heralded as the start of the next phase of the industry's journey – from having to import 90 percent of its raw materials to producing most of them domestically and reducing import costs by about 70 percent in the process.

However, according to a report by Prothom Alo, five years on, not only is the industry far from reaching that goal, but it is also far from making the park itself operational. This is primarily due to the absence of gas connectivity. Reportedly, despite frequent engagements with the relevant authorities, gas supply could not be ensured in the hub even though internal pipelines have been installed. As a result, only four out of the 27 pharmaceutical manufacturers who were allocated land to set up factories there have done so – but none of them could commence production. Additionally, the surge in the dollar exchange rate and ongoing economic pressures are also deterring manufacturers.

The project, thus, has become a perform storm of unrelenting delays and procedural setbacks. And for that, all the parties involved – including the Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industries Corporation (BSCIC), which is implementing the project, and Titas Gas, responsible for supplying gas – are equally responsible.

The question is, why do projects that start with such promise often end in disappointment? We have seen the same happening with some other industrial projects as well. This is not just a matter of delayed work stalling progress; it is also unfair to the taxpayers who are paying for them. The cost of the pharmaceutical project, when began in 2008, was originally estimated at Tk 213 crore. The budget was revised to Tk 381, and the project deadline extended four times, before its physical infrastructure was finally completed. Who will take responsibility for these irregularities? Who will ensure the participation of drug manufacturers to make all this work? We urge the government to breathe fresh life into the project by operationalising it as soon as possible.