Govt okays plan for 1 lakh low cost flats
Decides to offload shares of state oil companies
Staff Correspondent
The government yesterday approved in principle a proposal submitted by a Malaysian company for building one lakh apartments for low and middle income groups in the capital, but with a caveat that local companies must also have the opportunity to take part in the project.In another decision the government yesterday decided to offload shares of Meghna and Jamuna oil companies by October. "We have approved the proposal in principle but the project will not be implemented the way the Malaysian company proposed," Finance Adviser Mirza Azizul Islam told reporters about their decision regarding building low-priced apartments after a meeting of the advisers' committee on economic affairs. "We want our local companies to participate in this mammoth task," he said. The finance adviser said the large-scale work will be put on tenders in phases, as it might not be possible to find a single local firm competent enough to implement such a big housing project all by itself. Meeting sources said Malaysia based company, Metro Ikram Sdn Bhd, submitted a proposal to the Bangladesh government for building one lakh apartments in the capital under the 'build and transfer' (BT) system. The meeting also decided to offload up to 49 percent shares of each of the state owned Meghna and Jamuna oil companies by October. Chaired by Finance Adviser Mirza Azizul Islam the committee however rejected a proposal from the industries ministry for providing financial help to sick industries, including waiver of bank loans and the interests on them. Another proposal from the same ministry for declaring the newly established leather and leather goods industry at Savar near the capital as a special economic zone, also failed to get approval of the committee. About offloading the shares of Jamuna and Meghna oil companies, the finance adviser said the process of offloading the shares of the two state owned oil companies might be completed by October. The government will continue to own 51 percent shares in each of the oil companies, he said. About not providing financial help to sick industries, Mirza Azizul Islam said financial help like waiving bank loans and interests on them do not bring any change to sick industries, rather the situation worsens. "It has been proven in the past that no sick industry gets out of its sickness after getting financial assistance," he said. About not announcing the newly established leather and leather goods industry at Savar as a special economic zone, the finance adviser said, "We do not have necessary laws for announcing such industrial areas as special economic zones."
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