Railway parts industry fuels light engineering boom in Saidpur

Saidpur in Nilphamari has grown into a key centre for light engineering in northern Bangladesh, with over 500 factories producing goods worth around Tk300 crore annually. More than 100 of these factories specialise in railway components, valued at over Tk50 crore each year.

Business owners say the railway parts industry, once dependent on imports, has transformed Saidpur's light engineering sector, creating numerous jobs and producing several successful entrepreneurs.

Md Naim Khan, owner of Naim Engineering Workshop, is one such entrepreneur. Born in Saidpur, he learned to make parts while working with a railway contractor in Chattogram. Returning in the 1990s, he began producing railway components for the Saidpur Railway Workshop.

"The workshop I started in 1996 now employs 21 people," Naim said. "Apart from locomotive engines, almost every type of railway part is available from my factory. I supply regularly to the Saidpur Railway Workshop and the Dinajpur coal mine."

Naim supplies about Tk30 lakh worth of parts to the Saidpur Railway Workshop annually. "Nearly a hundred factories in Saidpur produce railway components. Some supply directly to the railway, while others do so through contractors. Demand is steadily rising," he added.

Local sources note that the British established the largest railway workshop in Saidpur in 1870 under the Assam Bengal Railway. Many retired workers later set up light engineering businesses producing mechanical parts. "My late father, Nizam Uddin, also worked at the Saidpur Railway Workshop. Inspired by him, I started this business," Naim added.

Industry veterans say light engineering began during the Pakistan era, producing mostly general mechanical parts. After independence, the sector expanded rapidly, earning Saidpur the nickname "second Jinjira" after the famous industrial area near Dhaka.

Factories in Saidpur now produce bicycle spare parts and various railway components, including connecting rods, housings, hose pipes, engine covers, couplings, bearing covers, cap engines, doors, windows, and handles for rail coaches. Railway parts are the most valuable segment of this growing sector, according to businessmen and Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industries Corporation (BSCIC) sources.

Core Engineering has been supplying locally made components directly to the Saidpur Railway Workshop for more than 10 years. Manager Al Amin said, "Thanks to the railway and other facilities, light engineering equipment has flourished here. With skilled craftsmen, nearly all types of machinery using local technology can be manufactured. Because the railway often needs train components, many factories have sprung up across the city."

Business owners say railway parts are commonly made from old iron, steel sheets, ship-breaking scrap, angles, and rods, sourced from Dhaka, Chattogram, local markets, and sometimes imported when shortages occur. Designs or blueprints are occasionally brought from Jashore and Bogura, which Saidpur technicians adapt.

Rabiul Islam, who has been making machine parts since 1995 at Maksud Alam Traders near the Saidpur BSCIC Industrial Area, said, "After years in the light engineering sector, I can now replicate machine parts precisely just by looking at them. We produce everything from nuts and bolts to complex machine components."

Highlighting the need for government support, Ershad Hossain Pappu, president of the Saidpur District Branch of the Bangladesh Engineering Industry Owners' Association and director of M/S Abdullah Engineering Workshop, said, "Around 500 enterprises are involved in light engineering in Saidpur. More than 100 of these factories also produce railway components worth over Tk50 crore each year, supplying them with BSCIC approval.

"The sector produces goods worth about Tk300 crore annually and employs several thousand people. With government incentives, easy loans, and modern technological support, this sector could grow even further."

To supply parts directly to the Saidpur Railway Workshop and the Central Locomotive Workshop in Parbatipur, companies must register as subcontractors with the Nilphamari office of BSCIC.

Moshiur Rahman, industrial city officer of BSCIC Nilphamari, said, "Fifty companies supplying components to the Saidpur Railway Workshop are registered with our office. These firms can deliver parts directly to the railway through tenders. Many other enterprises are also manufacturing parts. This is now a highly promising industry."