Existing units on the industrial estates belonging to Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industries Corporation (BSCIC) generated employment for 14,724 people, both male and female, during the first nine months of the current fiscal.
The people got the jobs in various fields like enterprise development, skill development and training, industry ownership transfer and establishment of new industries.
There are 1,027 units on 2,481 allocated plots in 19 industrial estates in around 471.28 acres of land in the country's northwest region consisting of all 16 districts under Rajshahi and Rangpur divisions at present.
Rezaul Alam Sarkar, Regional Director of BSCIC, told BSS that 908 of the units remained functioning with 45,836 workers and the entrepreneurs invested Taka 4,250.03 crore in the units.
Many of the nationwide famous industrial establishments, particularly Square Pharmaceuticals in Pabna and RFL in Rangpur, are continuing productive activities contributing a lot to the nation in terms of meeting demands of the consumers in general.
Several silk-clothes manufacturing units earned reputations for their quality products.
They expect that there would be no more sick industry in the estates.
Terming the BSCIC industrial area viable for any small and medium industry, Liakat Ali, president of Bangladesh Silk Industries Owners Association, said the entrepreneurs are making profits.
BSCIC Regional Director Rezaul Sarkar said they are continuing training activities on various trades in their four skill development training centres aimed at accelerating skills of the entrepreneurs.
He also said construction works of 62 more units are progressing fast. Revenues worth around Taka 104.46 crore as various utility services, including land development taxes, have, so far, been realised till March last.
"We have distributed Taka 438.30 crore among 5,594 entrepreneurs as cottage, micro, small and medium enterprise (CMSME) loans," he said, adding 619 other entrepreneurs received Taka 10.19 crore as Bangabandhu Youth loans.
The government announced the bailout package for the CMSME sector with an aim to help the stakeholders overcome the Covid-19 fallout.
Rezaul Sarkar also said they have distributed Taka 40.33 crore loans among 1,411 entrepreneurs from BSCIC incentives under the government's stimulus package. Besides, 2,492 units received loans worth Taka 29.33 crore from BSCIC's own fund.
In addition to giving registration to 1,340 industrial units, the BSCIC has imparted training to 740 persons for generation of entrepreneurs.
More than 1,027 metric tons of honey were produced by the private entrepreneurs with BSCIC assistance in the region during the current fiscal.
There is an apiculture centre in Dinajpur for imparting training on honey production to the farmers under the government's apiculture programme.
BSCIC has created scopes of generating 10,000 more employment as development of another industrial estate has almost been completed under a project titled "Rajshahi BSCIC Industrial Estate-2" involving around Taka 172 crore.
The estate has been developed on 50 acres of land at Parila Kechuatoil, Uzirpukur and Lalitahar areas at Paba upazila that will also help flourish the industrial sector in the city and its outskirts.
Under the project, 296 plots were created for accommodating 250 industrial units coupled with generating employment opportunities.
The industrial plots were developed considering the country's socio-economic condition and future necessity as the entrepreneurs are expanding the SME gradually in the region.
There are three types of plots. The number of A-type industrial units is 83 having 6,000 square feet each while 89 units are B-type with 4,500 square feet each and the remaining plots are S-type with the size of 3,500-8,000 square feet.
All sorts of necessary facilities for industrial units including roads, drains, culverts, water, gas and power supply, boundary wall, pump house, office and water reservoir will be ensured before handing over the plots to the entrepreneurs.
Apart from this, an industrial park is being established on 400 acres of land in Sirajganj in addition to the ongoing implementation of a food processing industrial city in Thakurgaon aimed at bolstering the economic conditions through encouraging the entrepreneurs to establish more industries.