Tannery owners propose for increasing fund to operate CETP

The tannery owners today demanded of the government to increase the existing fund for meeting the operating cost for effectively run the Central Effluent Treatment Plant (CETP) at Savar Tannery Industrial Estate.

The tannery entrepreneurs said that the government has kept an allocation of Tk30 crore for operating the CETP there in the first year, but the overall cost for operating the CETP including utility services, machinery and other electrical equipments and their maintenance would stand at Tk105 crore at the end of the year for which there is a need for increasing the fund, says a press release.

The tannery owners said this at a dialogue organized jointly by the Bangladesh Tanners Association (BTA) and The Asia Foundation held at a city restaurant for successfully running the Dhaka Tannery Industrial Estate Waste Treatment Plant Company Limited.

BSCIC Chairman Md Mustaq Hasan, BTA Chairman Md Shahin Ahmed, The Asia Foundation Country Representative Kazi Faisal Bin Siraj, Saver Tannery Industrial Estate project director Jitendra Nath Pal, Asia Foundation Director Sadat S Shibli spoke, among others, at the dialogue.

BTA Chairman Md Shahin Ahmed said although Dhaka Tannery Industrial Estate Waste Treatment Plant Company Limited has been established comprising tannery owners and officials of the concerned agency to successfully run the CETP, but it is yet to decide on how the fund of this company would be enhanced to meet the operating cost of this company.

He said the government would have to increase the size of the fund as around Tk105 crore would be needed in this year for operating the CETP whereas the allocation is only Tk30 crore.

The BTA Chairman also demanded of the government to exempt the interest on the bank loans of the tannery owners.

BSCIC Chairman Md Mustaq Hasan said the government may increase the fund of the company for meeting the operating cost of CETP if it is deemed necessary, but the industries at the tannery estate would have to be compliant fully to avail waste treatment facilities.

"The work for constructing CETP will be completed by the next one month and after that we'll fully launch it," Mustaq said urging the government and the industrial entrepreneurs to work jointly for successfully running the CETP.

The entrepreneurs at the dialogue informed that the current production level of the leather goods would have to be increased by three times to meet the growing demand of leather in 2041.