The Ministry of Jute suggested setting up container terminal, garment village and industrial park on the site.

The meeting observed the decision could be taken only at the cabinet meeting that will be acceptable to all stakeholders and beyond controversy.

According to the jute ministry proposal, 100 acres of lands should be given to Bangladesh Export Processing Zones Authority (BEPZA) and Ministry of Industries to set up an export processing zone (EPZ) and industrial park.

It also proposed allocation of 94.88 acres of land to commerce and industries ministries to set up a garment village while the rest 100 acres of land be allocated to shipping ministry for setting up container terminal and construct customs shed.

The ministry proposed fixation of Tk 1.78 crore for each acre of land.

The meeting was chaired by State Minister for Jute Lutfor Rahman Khan Azad which was attended among others by representatives from ministries of industries, commerce, finance, shipping, jute and national board of revenue (NBR). Jute Secretary ASM Abdul Halim also attended the meeting.

"The issue is sensitive, which should be decided at a high level-meeting," said an official, who attended the meeting.

Talking to The Daily Star some private sector industrialists termed the proposed price from the jute ministry to be ten times higher than the market price.

The Jute ministry proposed the price on the basis of a report from the Inventory Committee which was formed earlier, jute ministry sources said.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA), Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) and a number of individuals expressed their keen interest in setting up industries in the Adamjee Jute Mills area.

The officials said a 10-member inventory committee, formed at the end of 2002, had calculated the total price of mill's movable and immovable property at Tk 1038.87 crore. Of the total, Tk 606.32 crore had been fixed as the price of its land measuring 310 acres and the remaining amount as the price of movable goods.

Earlier, a meeting at the Ministry of Industries decided to establish dying, finishing and ready-made-garment (RMG) industries at the site.

The incumbent government had closed down the mill, the biggest loss making public sector enterprise, amid pressure from multilateral donor agencies like the World Bank (WB) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).