Badrul Ahsan :
The government has planned to set up solar power and central effluent treatment plants in all the Export Processing Zones (EPZs) across the country with a view to ensuring environment friendly industrial production.
To this effect, the Bangladesh Export Processing Zones Authority (BEPZA) has in the meantime set up a central effluent treatment plant (CETP) in Comilla EPZ at a cost of Tk 375 million (37.5 crore) to make the industrial area a green and low carbon zones.
With the CETP in Comilla EPZ, a total of three EPZs under the BEPZA came under effluent treatment facilities.
The BEPZA had earlier installed two CETPs at Dhaka and Chittagong Export Processing Zones.
The authority has also installed solar streetlights, two units of solar photovoltaic power system and solar panels for investors’ club and zone services complex at a cost of nearly Tk 88 million at Chittagong Export Processing Zone (CEPZ) under the green initiative.
Under the project at CEPZ, a total of 750 electric poles have been set up with solar panel on the streets, bringing the entire Chittagong EPZ under solar energy system. As a result, the CEPZ authority expects to save electricity of around Tk 3.2 million per year.
Sources said, the BEPZA is also working to establish an environmental laboratory at Chittagong EPZ to assess the volume of carbon the industrial units emit, which will help reduce the carbon emission.
General Manager (PR) of BEPZA, Nazma Binte Alamgir said that the implanting of the low-carbon projects will facilitate the EPZs to enjoy energy use in an environment friendly way along with ensuring lower carbon emission.
“We are putting our best efforts to make the EPZs efficient with good environmental practices,” she said.
“With the lessons learnt from this project, the BEPZA will establish such green energy systems and CETPs in other EPZs across the country.”
However, with assistance from local and foreign funds, including the World Bank, the EU and the South Korean government, the BEPZA has implemented the low-carbon zone project.
There are eight EPZs in the country, which have been playing a significant role in the creation of employment, attracting local and foreign investments and foreign currency earnings.
The zones help also diversify goods and transfer of technology while contributing to the national export.
Around US$3.51 billion were invested by 442 operative and 120 under implementation industries of EPZs at the end of April this year.
Presently, around 415,000 Bangladeshi nationals are working in the factories of eight EPZs.
Meanwhile, replying to aquestion, president of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) Md. Siddiqur Rahman said, the association is a negotiation with the government to bring all the garment factories operating outside the EPZs under green zone.
“We are in talk with the government to manage fund at a single digit of interest so that all the garment factories can adopt environment-friendly technology in production,” he said.
