Initiatives Underway to Restart Three Closed Tongi Textile Mills
Efforts are underway to restart three closed textile mills in Tongi through a joint venture arrangement. Management and board members recently convened to discuss overcoming mounting financial liabilities and bank interest waivers.
A fresh initiative has been launched to reopen three closed textile mills located in the Tongi area of Gazipur, marking a significant development for the region's industrial sector. The factories involved in this reopening effort are New Monno Fine Cotton Mills Limited, New Olympia Textile Mills Limited, and Meghna Textile Mills Limited, which have faced prolonged closures since their ownership transfer.
On Saturday afternoon, a formal introduction and exchange of views meeting took place regarding the restart of these three mills. The gathering was held at Nabi House, situated adjacent to the Tongi Ijtema Ground in Gazipur, bringing together the management and members of the board of directors associated with the respective industrial units.
According to the verified background of these enterprises, the three mills operate under the jurisdiction of the Bangladesh Textile Mills Corporation (BTMC). In the year 2001, the ownership of these facilities was transferred to various shareholders through joint venture agreements, setting the stage for private-public cooperation in industrial management.
However, production at all three institutions has remained entirely suspended ever since the completion of the ownership transfer process. This extensive period of inactivity has compounded the financial challenges facing the factories, leaving their operational capacities dormant for more than two decades while overhead and legacy issues accumulated.
A critical barrier to restarting operations is the heavy debt burden currently weighing on the facilities. Statistics presented during the discussions reveal that the outstanding loan amount for each individual mill has surpassed 44 crore taka, highlighting the immense financial hurdles that must be cleared to resume manufacturing activities.
Addressing the financial crisis, Abu Hasan provided key insights into the accumulation of the debt and potential solutions for the factories. 'At the time of the transfer, the loan amount was lower. However, because the mills have been closed for a long time, accumulated interest has currently increased the liabilities significantly. If the banks waive the interest, it will be possible to restart the mills newly through a joint venture,' Abu Hasan stated.
