BCIC Proposes API Factory at Abandoned Khulna Newsprint Mills
The Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corporation (BCIC) has initiated a project to establish an Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (API) manufacturing plant on the abandoned site of Khulna Newsprint Mills Limited, which has been closed for 22 years.
According to Mousumi Dutta, Additional Chief Chemist of BCIC’s Planning and Implementation Department, the project is currently at the Development Project Proposal (DPP) stage.
If approved by the ministry, it will be forwarded to the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) for final approval.
Due to rising demand, 90% of pharmaceutical raw materials in Bangladesh are currently imported, with only a few private factories in Dhaka and Chattogram producing 10%. Even the Essential Drug Company Ltd (EDCL), supplying medicines to government hospitals, relies on imports. The proposed API plant aims to reduce dependence on imports and save foreign exchange.
Md Abu Sayeed, Managing Director of Khulna Newsprint Mills Ltd, stated that of the mill’s 88 acres, 50 acres were sold to the North-West Power Generation Company Limited, which built the Rupsa 800 MW Power Plant. If the API factory is established, it could create 1,500 jobs.
Khulna Newsprint Mills, established in 1959, once had a 48,000-tonne annual production capacity but suffered losses starting in 1992 due to policy changes, including the removal of a 75% import duty on newsprint in 1995-96.
Additionally, UNESCO’s designation of the Sundarbans as a World Heritage Site limited access to Gewa wood, the mill’s primary raw material. Facing losses of Tk 284 crore (1995-2002), the government shut down the mill in November 2002, leaving 3,000 workers unemployed. The Khulna Newsprint Mill Raksha Sangram Parishad has long lobbied for the mill’s revival, submitting requests to authorities.
Sheikh Ashraf-uz-Zaman, President of the Greater Khulna Development Action Coordination Committee (GKDACC), confirmed public efforts to repurpose the land but noted uncertainty regarding the project’s timeline.
