NARAYANGANJ, Apr 25: Textiles and Jute Minister Khandker Abdul Muktadir has said that there is no scope for a dramatic rise in bus fares or prices of essential commodities due to fuel price hikes.
He said electricity generated in the country is first distributed to private sector industries.
"So it is not the case that production has been hampered and exports have declined solely due to fuel-related issues. The global export market is also experiencing a mild slowdown, which is a major contributing factor," he told journalists on Saturday morning.
The minister made the remarks while visiting a knit industrial park developed on the site of the former Chittaranjan Cotton Mill at Godnail in Narayanganj at around 11 am.
He also urged prospective investors to avoid fuel-intensive factories in the future and instead invest in less fuel-intensive industries.
"There is no scope for a sudden and dramatic increase in bus fares or prices of essential commodities due to fuel price hikes. In this regard, monitoring must be strengthened," he added.
Responding to another query, the minister said that among the industrial plots under the Bangladesh Textile Mills Corporation (BTMC), two have already been used to set up industries, while another two are in the process of being allocated to the same company.
He added that some of the remaining plots are facing local encroachment issues, which will be resolved swiftly to facilitate investment in all industrial plots in the future.
Among others present were State Minister for the same ministry Md Shariful Alam, BTMC Chairman Brig Gen SM Jahid Hasan, PPP Project Director of BTMC Kazi Firoz Hossain, Deputy Chief Accounts Officer Rafiqul Islam, Deputy Commissioner Md Raihan Kabir, and Managing Director of Bornali Collection Ltd Aminur Rahman Sabbir.
Later, the minister and the state minister, along with officials concerned, visited the garments factory named Bornali Collection Ltd located in the textile industrial park and also inspected other industrial plots in the area.
