Govt moves to reopen two silk factories under PPP
Wednesday, July 8, 2009 The government has taken initiatives to reopen two silk factories -- one in Rajshahi and the other in Thakurgaon under public-private partnership (PPP) by January next. The Tk27 crore loss-burdened Rajshahi Silk Factory was shut down in 2002, forcing 359 employees out of job. At that time, Thakurgaon Silk Factory was also closed. As per the prime minister's directive to the Ministry of Jute and Textile ministry to take immediate steps to reopen the factories, a high profile parliamentary body visited Rajshahi on Friday and Thakurgaon on Sunday to examine the feasibility of the move. The three-member team completed an inventory of the factory machineries and exchanged views with experts, businessmen, growers and officials of the Bangladesh Sericulture Board. "Local businessmen showed interest in running the factories under PPP," Kazi Abdul Wadud Dara, the committee chief and a lawmaker from Rajshahi-5 constituency, told The Daily St