Industries Minister Khandakar Abdul Muktadir on Sunday told Parliament that the allegations of corruption and money laundering against S Alam Group have not affected any project under his ministry.
Responding to a tabled question from opposition MP Shahjahan Chowdhury, he said since the ministry is not linked to S Alam Group, it has no role in securing the arrears of salaries or the employment of the group's workers.
The minister clarified that there are no plans to manage the group's seized assets or factories by appointing receivers.
Regarding fertiliser production, he explained that the global crisis triggered by the Middle East conflict has made it impossible to supply gas to all urea factories.
Currently, Muktadir said, only Ghorashal-Palash Fertilizer Public Limited Company is in production.
To address the shortage, the government is importing an additional 7 lakh metric tons of urea – 2 lakh from Saudi Arabia’s SABIC, 1 lakh from the UAE’s Fertiglobe, and 4 lakh through international quotations – he said.
The minister noted that if the gas supply is ensured, Shahjalal Fertiliser Company Limited is expected to resume production on May 1.
Efforts are also underway to secure raw materials like rock phosphate and phosphoric acid for TSP and DAP factories through G2G agreements with countries, including Morocco, Jordan, Oman, China and Malaysia, he said.