One way of addressing the rising cost of production in Dhaka and Chittagong, is to move out to other EPZs, as both these cities are facing labour shortages as well as rising property costs making it almost impossible to expand any further. However, because of infrastructural bottlenecks in other parts of the country like poor gas connections, no electricity and bad roads and railway connectivity, manufacturers are apprehensive of moving out of Dhaka and Chittagong.
Though many factories would be interested, but the difficulties are too many. “We would like to move out but then the question is – Do we have power? Do we have gas? At this stage we can’t grow our business starting from scratch,” argues Syed Asad Ali, Director, Armana Group. Sharing a similar thought, Aseem Sood, VP, Palmal Group said “Setting up a plant from scratch is not an option as it consumes more time and cost and manufacturers are not interested in ROI but how quickly the plant is up and running.”
Despite all the above problems Gazi Mahbubul Alam, Director, Mehmud Group is willing to setup a factory in south Bangladesh. “Instead of bringing the village girls here and creating competition, we should go to their places. I am waiting for the completion of the Padma Bridge, after which I have plans to move, but then again I need infrastructure to go and move my cargo,” he reasons.
With the Government encouraging people to move out and setup their new plants in other EPZ, many exporters are waiting to see how the transition takes place before taking the plunge.
