Another tea garden in Fatikchhari to create 500 jobs

Chowdhury Group is establishing a new tea garden in Chattogram's Fatikchhari upazila, expected to create jobs for 500 workers in ten years.

The company has leased 560.79 acres of khas land for this venture, investing Tk10 crore initially, with plans for another Tk10 crore over the next decade.

The Chowdhury Tea Estate will span hilly and plain areas in Bhujpur Union of Fatikchhari, which already hosts 17 of Chattogram's 22 tea gardens.

Officials of the tea garden said they plan to plant 2.80 lakh saplings on 40 acres initially and aim to plant a total of 35 lakh saplings on 500 acres over the next ten years. Infrastructure and roads will be constructed on the remaining 60 acres, along with factories.

Developing the garden will not only preserve the area's environmental balance but also benefit the national economy through land development taxes and tea leaf production, they said.

The upazila administration has already started marking the garden's boundaries. ATM Kamrul Islam, Fatikchhari's assistant commissioner of land, personally oversaw the inspection on 4 February.

Kamrul Islam said, "We have been working with local dignitaries for the past week to determine the garden's boundaries. Any complaints are promptly addressed through hearings. It will take another week to complete the marking of the entire garden."

He said the government will receive Tk1.68 lakh annually as tax for the leased land.

Mohammad Jahangir Alam, with 34 years of experience in the tea industry, is serving as the director of Chowdhury Tea Estate.

He said the climate of Fatikchhari is very suitable for tea cultivation. "I have experience in developing two tea gardens in this area. I am utilising my experience to develop the garden."

Alam said they have already deposited a lease fee of Tk7.86 crore for the land.

Regarding employment, he said, "Currently, 120 workers are employed in the garden. This number will exceed 500 in the next 10 years. We are prioritising the recruitment of locals, including people of the Tripura community.

The investor, Chowdhury Group, has businesses based in Dubai and investments in a power plant in Bangladesh, he added.

According to the Tea Association of Bangladesh, about 20,000 workers are employed in the 22 tea gardens of Chattogram district. Five of the top 10 local tea gardens in the country are located in Fatikchhari.

Tea produced from the plantations in the upazila meets 10% of the national demand for tea leaves. According to a Bangladesh Tea Board report, Chattogram's 22 tea gardens produced 1.07 lakh kilograms of tea in 2023.