China keen to finalise BMRE of KMP in jt commission meet
UNB, Dhaka
China wants to see the finalisation of BMRE project of Karnaphuli Paper Mills (KMP) during the 11th meeting of the China-Bangladesh Joint Commission on Economic and Trade Cooperation scheduled to be held in Dhaka on May 21-22.Chinese Ambassador Chai Xi in a letter to Industry Minister Matiur Rahman Nizami and Principal Secretary to the prime minister Kamaluddin Siddique said the Chinese side would like to finalise the matter at the meeting. A series of meetings will be held between the two sides during the meeting on different projects, including BMRE of KPM, Khulna 210-megawatt thermal power plant, Pagla Water Treatment Plant, North Dhaka Sewerage Project and five-lakh digital telephone exchange project. The finalisation of BMRE (Balancing, Modernisation, Renovation and Expansion) project for KPM will top the agenda. Economic Relations Division (ERD) Secretary Ismail Zabiullah will represent the Bangladesh side at the meeting. The Bangladesh-China Joint Commission meeting is being held at a time when the government is under serious pressure from a vested quarter to privatise the KPM on the plea that it is a losing state-owned enterprise (SOE), sources said. "The early implementation of this important project will no doubt have abiding salutary implications for our bilateral relations and contribute to further consolidating the relationship of cooperation between our two countries," Chai Xi said in his letter to the industry minister. In his letter to Kamal Siddique the Chinese envoy said, "The timely BMRE of KPM will be highly profitable to meet the demand for paper and paper products of the country, save foreign exchange and generate additional employment." A source within the Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corporation (BCIC) said the government undertook the US$87 million BMRE project for KPM in 2000 under Chinese Suppliers' Credit. The contract for the execution of the project was awarded to National Machinery Import and Export Corporation through a competitive bidding and an agreement was signed to that effect on May 7, 2001. But the project has since been lying in suspension without any forward movement and as a result without BMRE, the KPM has remained virtually shut down causing substantial loss of production. A BCIC official said the equipment and machinery used for installation of the KPM in 1953 have not been changed until today. "It's possible to make the mills profitable by implementing the BMRE project," he said requesting anonymity.
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