Private petrochemical plants to resume operation

Mohammad Raihanul Islam, The CEO of Ecospear is determined to introduce eco-friendly polybags as an alternative to traditional polythene bags in Bangladesh. Despite being the only company with a biodegradable testing certificate from the Bangladesh Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (BCSIR), he faces challenges in obtaining government clearance to introduce these bags to the domestic market. The Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution (BSTI) lacks a testing facility to provide the necessary certificate, hindering his efforts.

Fifty-four temporary chemical warehouses have been officially opened in Shyampur as part of the government's initiative to relocate chemical warehouses from Old Dhaka. The project, called "Warehouse construction for the storage of chemicals on a temporary basis," was implemented by the Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corporation (BCIC) under the Ministry of Industries. The inauguration ceremony was attended by Industries Minister and Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) Mayor. The project, which began in March 2019 and recently reached completion, had an estimated cost of Tk71.44 crore but was accomplished within Tk62.51 crore.

Salvo Chemical, a company specializing in the production of sulfuric acid, sulfate, battery-grade water, and glucose, experienced a significant decline in profits during the third quarter (January to March) of the current fiscal year. The company's profit decreased by 63% compared to the same period last year, primarily due to the rising production costs. In the January to March quarter, the company's earnings per share (EPS) amounted to Tk0.42, a decline from Tk1.14 in the previous year. Similarly, for the period from July to March of FY22, the EPS was Tk1.42, compared to Tk2.49 in the previous year.

Active Fine Chemicals Limited experienced a significant decline in profit during the third quarter of the current financial year, with a year-on-year decrease of 50 percent to Tk 47.99 lakh. In comparison, the company's profit in the January-March quarter of 2021-22 was Tk 95.97 lakh. As a result, the earnings per share (EPS) also declined from Tk 0.04 in the third quarter of the previous financial year to Tk 0.02 in January-March of 2022-23, as indicated by the unaudited financial statements.

A report from the Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS) revealed that approximately 75% of workers in the light engineering and electronics sector are employed in fields that do not align with their educational backgrounds. The study examined 123 light engineering firms and 100 electronics firms. A senior research fellow involved in the study, highlighted the prevalence of skill mismatch and under-education within the sector.

After three years of non-operation, privately-owned petrochemical and fractionation plants in Bangladesh are preparing to resume commercial operations with the government's plan to import diesel-rich condensate. The Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) has chosen Indonesian energy company PT Bumi Siak Pusako (BSP) to supply approximately 30,000 tonnes of diesel-rich condensate through an international tender. Once the condensate is imported, the BPC will distribute the fuel to various petrochemical and fractionation plants for refining, primarily to produce diesel.