A temporary chemical warehouse has been inaugurated at Shyampur in Old Dhaka of the capital through the 'Warehouse constructed for the storage of chemical products on a temporary basis' project implemented by the Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corporation (BCIC) under the Ministry of Industries.

Industries Minister Nurul Majid Mahmud Humayun and Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) Mayor Barrister Sheikh Fazle Noor Tapas officially inaugurated the warehouse at Shyampur in the capital on Sunday.

At this time, State Minister for Industry Kamal Ahmed Majumdar, Member of Parliament for Dhaka-4 Constituency Syed Abu Hossain, Industry Secretary Zakia Sultana, Project Contractor Narayanganj Dockyard and Engineering Works Limited Managing Director Commodore Md. Abdullah Al Maksous and the chairman of BCIC. Saidur Rahman were present.

While speaking as the chief guest, Industries Minister Nurul Majid Mahmud Humayun said that to prevent the recurrence of Nimtali and Churihatta tragedies, initiatives were taken to move chemical warehouses from densely populated areas under the direction of the Prime Minister. The construction of this chemical warehouse has been made possible with the help of all concerned. The temporary chemical warehouse will soon be allotted to genuine traders. One such warehouse is being constructed in Tongi.

He also said that the current government is business friendly. The government under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is providing all-out support to create a business-friendly environment. As a result, business and industry supportive environment has already been created in the country. The government is implementing this project to temporarily store chemicals. The implementation of the project will ensure the safety of the people of Old Dhaka in particular. The 'BSIC Chemical Industrial Park' project is being implemented on 310 acres of land at Sirajdikhan in Munshiganj. We have developed land there. Boundary construction and other physical facilities have been constructed.

While speaking as the special guest, DSCC Mayor Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh said that the arrangement of separate warehouses for chemicals and explosives will be shifted from Old Dhaka through this management. I would hope that this policy (Puran Dhaka Chemicals Transfer Policy) be formulated soon. Based on the opinion of FBCCI, Dhaka Chamber and other business representatives who were here, a policy will be made to arrange for speedy transfer. I will request the Minister, State Minister and Secretary to take a few more years to make this policy. The policy is formulated within a specific period like 15 days or one month and the policy should be business friendly.

He also said that those who will come to the warehouse here will have to invest again. They are commercially disadvantaged. But they should feel encouraged, comfortable in the process of transfer. Even with some concessions, the policy should be made in such a way. I would request that special attention be paid to ensure that no policy is made in such a way that it will discourage them further from the point of view of reality. We will have all kinds of cooperation in this regard. We believe that all hazardous chemicals will migrate slowly. Not as a disaster-prone city, we want Dhaka to be a disaster-tolerant livable city.

State Minister for Industries Kamal Ahmed Majumdar said that the multi-faceted conspiracy of the anti-independence forces is continuing to hinder the development and progress of the country to take the country backwards and destroy the spirit of the great liberation war. Therefore, all the supporters of the liberation war must unite to face all the conspiracies of the anti-independence and continue the development and progress of the country under the leadership of Bangabandhu's daughter Sheikh Hasina.

The temporary chemical warehouse construction project started in March 2019. The estimated expenditure was 71 crore 44 lakh taka but the actual expenditure was 62 crore 51 lakh taka. Out of this GOB i.e. government grant is Tk 582.7 crore and BCIC has given Tk. 4 crore 24 lakh. As a result, the government has saved about 9 crore taka. The project built on 6.17 acres of land is being implemented through Narayanganj Dockyard and Engineering Works Limited, an organization of Bangladesh Navy. Under the project, 54 warehouses of size 35'×35'×20' and two three-storey office buildings of size 72'×36' have been constructed.