TK Group to invest Tk 1,744cr at Bangabandhu Shilpa Nagar
Samuda Food Product and Samuda Chemical Complex, two sister concerns of the TK Group of Industries, will invest Tk 1,744.80 crore at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Shilpa Nagar (BSMSN) to create consumer goods and chemicals.
"We aim to attract the regional consumers of Chattogram with new products," said Mohammad Mustafa Haider, managing director of Samuda Food.
Initially, Tk 650 crore will be invested, that will hit Tk 1,744 crore or $205.28 million within the next 3 years, said Haider, also a director of TK Group.
The group yesterday signed an agreement with the Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority (Beza) to take 60 acres of land on lease inside BSMSN to set up the brand new production units.
The new investment will be used to create crude soybean oil, soybean cake, refined edible oil, caustic soda, chlorinated paraffin wax, hydrochloric acid, chlorine, sodium hypochlorite and hydrogen peroxide.
"We will be able to create around 1,560 jobs in both units, the construction work that will hopefully get started in next January."
The buyer goods unit will get into operation next one-and-a-half years and the chemical unit within two-and-a-half years, Haider said.
The market has surplus production of the two types of products as several manufacturers are already there in the business, he said.
"But most manufacturing units are positioned beyond Chattogram, which creates an excellent scope for all of us to occupy the regional market. It could be cost-effective for us taking into consideration the geographical location and the existence of strong distribution channel."
The regional market will grow in the times to come, keeping pace with the spiralling purchasing capacity of consumers in the port city, he said.
The manufacturing units will be benefited with the logistics facilities, specially the transport services obtainable in the city, he noted.
Haider said they will mobilise funds from foreign banks and preliminary negotiation for financing the factories has been completed.
TK Group is one of the largest and different business conglomerates in Bangladesh with 43 active sections and a lot more than 12,000 employees.
Within the last four-and-a-half decades, the group has committed to edible oils and fats00, steel, board, paper, textile, packaging and containers, tea plantation, ship building, consumer products, trading shares and securities.
Beza encourages the meals processors to ensure quality products for consumers, said Paban Chowdhury, executive chairman of Beza.
Investments in the country's economic zones are quite secured and are a result of Beza's hard work, he said.
Not only local companies, but also the foreign kinds are investing in the meals processing sector, Chowdhury added.
Beza has generated a welcoming atmosphere for the investors in the monetary zones in fact it is ready to help them to do business smoothly, he said.
