Staff Reporter :Industries Minister Amir Hossain Amu on Wednesday said, the government will set up an industrial zone in Munshiganj to promote environment-friendly plastic industry. “The government is committed to established an environment friendly plastic industry and that is why we have selected a land measuring over 50 acres at Sirajdikhan in Munshiganj,” said the minister at the inaugural session of a four-day plastic fair.The Bangladesh Plastic Goods Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BPGMEA) and Chan Chao International Co. Ltd of Taiwan jointly organised the 11th International Plastic Fair-2016 in the Bangabandhu International Conference Centre in the capital.Industries Minister said that a total of 360 plastic industrial units would be installed in the proposed Tk 133-crore project.He said that about 18,000 workers, including 1800 women, would get work in the planned industrial zone once the scheme is implemented.Amu said the plastic industry has immense potential to diversify its products. “If it gets policy support, it is possible to increase export of plastic goods of US$ 1.00 billion by 2021,” he said.Currently Bangladesh exports plastic products to different countries such as the USA, Canada, China, India, Nepal and the European Union.He said, “We directly export plastic goods worth Tk 10 billion each year.”More than 300 participants from 13 countries of the world, including Bangladesh, is taking part in the international plastic fair, he said. He said the fair will create opportunities for technology transfer to help promote local industries.He hoped the fair would broaden the opportunities for local industries to produce products of foreign quality and exchange ideas.President of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) Abdul Matlub Ahmad, BPGMEA President M Jasim Uddin and Secretary General of Asia Plastic Forum Callum Chen, among others, spoke on the occasion.
