United News of Bangladesh

Rangpur has been waiting for a second industrial estate under the Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industries Corporation (BSCIC) for decades, with repeated proposals for new land failing to secure approval from the relevant ministry. The prolonged delay has left aspiring entrepreneurs struggling to find industrial plots, limiting the expansion of small and cottage industries, hampering job creation and pushing many educated and less-educated job seekers to migrate to Dhaka and other major cities in search of work. BSCIC began its operations in Rangpur in 1967, acquiring 20.68 acres of land in the city’s CO Bazar area and dividing it into 83 plots for industrial entrepreneurs. The existing estate now houses 25 industrial establishments, including Rangpur Foundry Limited (RFL), GFL, Khan Foundry Limited, Chowdhury Ice and Cold Storage Limited, Bismillah Metal Industries, Nine Jute Mills, Himadri Cold Storage, Rangpur Flour Mills, Northern Timber Industries, Phoenix Chemical and Plastic Industries, and Milk Vita. Of the 25 establishments, 22 are currently operational, according to Rangpur BSCIC sources. Around 75 percent of the plots are occupied by RFL, further limiting opportunities for new entrepreneurs. The estate has 13 plots in category A, 39 in category B, 16 in category C, 14 in category D and one special plot, classified according to their size. Industrial units operating in the estate benefit from facilities such as access to loans on relatively favourable terms, electricity and road connectivity. The estate has also created employment opportunities for local people. However, the number of available plots has failed to keep pace with rising entrepreneurial interest, particularly since Rangpur became a separate administrative division in 2010. An initiative to establish a second BSCIC industrial estate was taken in 2002. A 50-acre site at Damdama, beside the Rangpur-Dhaka highway, was selected, and an application was submitted to the Industries Ministry seeking permission to acquire the land. The proposal, however, did not progress. More recently, on April 30, 2024, the then deputy commissioner sent a report to the relevant ministry identifying 100 acres of potential land in Haridebpur and Ramanathpur mouzas under Rangpur Sadar upazila. The report included estimated land prices and sketch maps for establishing the proposed industrial estate. No decision has yet been communicated on the proposal, leaving the initiative stalled, local sources said.