B Mirror Report:  The government plans to lease out six additional closed state-owned jute mills to the private sector by December this year, according to Textile and Jute Minister Khandaker Abdul Muktadir.

He made the announcement after an emergency meeting with stakeholders held at the conference room of the Ministry of Textiles and Jute at the Secretariat, focused on leasing out closed mills.

The minister said each mill is expected to create more than 1,000 jobs, while new investments ranging from Tk 20 billion to Tk 50 billion (approximately 200–500 crore taka per mill) are anticipated.

“The government is moving forward in a planned way to revive closed jute mills, increase investment, employment, and export earnings,” Muktadir said. “The meeting reviewed the condition of the closed mills, investment potential, and how to accelerate private investment.”

He added that several mills have already been handed over to private investors, where significant investment and job creation have taken place, which he described as a positive development.

“Our long-term plan is to bring all mills under the ministry back into production. Some will operate in the jute sector, while others may be repurposed for different industries. This will generate thousands of jobs and help build import-substituting industries and foreign currency earnings,” he said.

State Minister for Textiles and Jute Shariful Alam said the government is working rapidly based on field inspections of textile and jute mills to ensure their economic revival and industrial importance.

Officials present at the meeting included the Chairman of the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA) Ashik Chowdhury, the Secretary of the Ministry of Textiles and Jute Abdur Nasir Khan, and senior officials and investor representatives from the Bangladesh Jute Mills Corporation (BJMC) and Bangladesh Textile Mills Corporation.

According to officials, 25 jute mills under BJMC were shut down in 2020. Later, a process was initiated to lease out 20 of them. So far, 14 mills have been leased, 9 have resumed production, and around 9,500 people have been employed there.