Eco-friendly, cost-effective: Govt expedites approval of jute bag factory, electric buses

After enduring long delays in the approval process, eco-friendly and cost-effective projects are regaining importance under the interim government.

Following the change in government, the Planning Commission has begun fast-tracking the approval for two such environmentally sustainable initiatives – the establishment of a jute bag factory and the introduction of electric buses in Dhaka.

According to sources from the Planning Commission and the Ministry of Textiles and Jute, the jute-based "Sonali Bag" was developed in 2016 as an eco-friendly alternative to polythene. The shopping bag was introduced to the market experimentally in 2017.

However, it took six years to prepare a proposal for a factory under the initiative of the Bangladesh Jute Mills Corporation (BJMC). In early 2023, the project proposal was submitted to the Planning Commission for approval. It was again stuck at the commission for a year and a half.

Finally, the project was reviewed by the Project Evaluation Committee on 26 September and is now set to be submitted to the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec) for final approval.

Mubarak Ahmad Khan, the inventor of Sonali Bag and chief scientific adviser to the BJMC, said the previous government's lack of interest had the project stuck for so long.

"While the approval process has now resumed, there are still uncertainties about whether the proposed factory will be established," he said.

He added that the project holds great potential for investment, as various countries have expressed interest in the bags. If necessary, private production of the bags could also be explored, but government policy support would be essential.

The BJMC's proposed pilot factory would be set up at Latif Bawany Jute Mills area in Demra at a cost of Tk100 crore. The factory is expected to produce 1,500 tonnes of Sonali Bags and other eco-friendly packaging materials annually, with a daily production capacity of five tonnes of polymer bags.

Electric buses

The Planning Commission is also expediting the approval process for a Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation (BRTC) initiative to purchase 12 electric air-conditioned buses.

The total cost of the project is Tk49.87 crore, including each bus at Tk2.95 crore and two charging stations at Tk8.40 crore. The Project Evaluation Committee is scheduled to review the proposal on Monday.

Planning officials said projects under Tk50 crore can be approved at the ministerial or advisory level, bypassing the need for Ecnec presentation, thus speeding up the approval process.

During the previous government's tenure, the Planning Commission raised concerns over the cost estimates of various components of large-scale electric bus projects, they said.

For instance, a 2018 proposal from South Korea, which included the purchase of 340 electric buses and 140 CNG single-decker AC city buses at a cost of Tk371.60 crore faced similar delays. 

An additional proposal to buy 200 CNG single-decker intercity buses at Tk659.65 crore also faced objections over cost allocations. Besides, a proposal to purchase 100 electric double-decker buses with Indian funding was made but remains pending.

Colonel Mohammad Mubarak Hossain Majumdar, director of the BRTC, said those proposed projects with foreign funding will remain in the pipeline. 

"To address the growing demand for buses, the BRTC has initiated the new government-funded bus procurement programme," he said. 

Currently, the BRTC operates a fleet of 1,350 buses, which is insufficient to meet the vast public service needs, according to BRTC officials.

Nearly 800 buses are nearing the end of their operational lifespan, and by 2025, the number of operational buses is expected to decline to around 550. 

The new project's proposal outlines a goal of transitioning at least 30% of the transport fleet to electric vehicles by 2030. Furthermore, diesel and octane buses are expected to be phased out globally by 2030. After 2035, automobile manufacturers will no longer produce diesel-engine vehicles.