The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs on Monday recommended in-principle approval for developing Kokil Textile Mills Limited in Brahmanbaria under a public-private partnership (PPP), aiming to implement the project through private sector participation.

The recommendation was made at the committee’s 34th meeting, chaired by Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury.

The Ministry of Textiles and Jute placed the proposal for implementing the project titled “Development of Kokil Textile Mills Limited, Brahmanbaria” through the Bangladesh Textile Mills Corporation (BTMC) under the PPP framework.

The committee discussed the proposal and recommended in-principle approval for it.

Kokil Textile Mills Limited, located on 11.08 acres of land in Brahmanbaria town, was established in 1961 under Panorama Company Limited and began producing yarn in 1966.

The government nationalised the mill after Bangladesh’s independence and renamed it Kokil Textile Mills in 1972.

The mill was privatised in 2006 and handed over to Mannan Group of Industries, but the private owners failed to resume regular operations and reportedly left dues of around Tk 33.84 crore unpaid.

The government took back the mill in May 2017 and handed it over to the Bangladesh Textile Mills Corporation (BTMC).

Now, after remaining closed for about 27 years, the government has initiated a plan to reopen the mill under a public-private partnership (PPP) arrangement.