Walton eyes int’l market with high production

http://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/2009/11/08/83704.html

Walton eyes int’l market with high production

Walton Refrigerator. Source: http://www.waltonbd.com/

Mehdi Musharraf Bhuiyan

Local consumer electronics giant Walton has aimed at more than doubling its daily production of refrigerators by the end of this year as the company is looking to make its mark in the wider international market.

The wholly Bangladeshi owned company- which is a concern of the local R.B. Group, is planning to increase its daily production output of refrigerator to 2,500 from its present level of around 1000, the company authority said Saturday.

“With the Eid ul Azha in the offing, demand for refrigerators, which is our trademark item, is running high in the local market at the moment” a senior marketing official of Walton told FE.

“However, after the end of the Eid season, we would increase our daily production to 2,500 per day as we are eyeing a number of overseas markets for our export”, said Moudud Parvez Mamun, Marketing Manager of Walton.

The conglomerate says that recent years have seen a boom in sales of its locally manufactured refrigerators in the domestic market and currently a total of 11 various brands of Walton refrigerators are available in the local market.

“We already have talked with dealers from a total of 13 countries around the world and by next year we would begin to export refrigerators in Malaysia and Saudi Arabia” Mamun said, adding “Walton has already shipped a range of its refrigerators to Sudan”.

The company says that the lower price of its products would give them a competitive advantage over other international competitors in the overseas market.

In addition, Walton is also looking to gear up its production of locally manufactured motorcycles by more than three fold, which it has identified as another highly potential market both home and abroad.

“Currently we churn out around 300 motorcycles per day from our factory in Gazipur. But by the beginning of the next year, we aiming to increase it to almost a thousand”, Mamun said.

The Bangladeshi company has recently signed an agreement with the Malaysian auto manufacturer Ageth to set up an automobile plant in its factory premise.

“Now we are hoping to commence the establishment of the plant by December which would ultimately see us manufacturing private cars and other automobiles within the country”, Mamun added.

Apart from the manufacturing of refrigerators and motorcycles, the company also assembles television, washing machine, generator, battery and energy saving lights while in the next summer; it is also planning to market its locally manufactured air conditioners.

R.B. Group- to which Walton is a subsidiary, first started its journey in 1977. The company started manufacturing and assembling electronic products back in 1996 and thus has played a pioneering role in electronics manufacturing in the country.

Pragoti to begin assembling Pajero Sports in 2011

http://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/2009/10/31/83028.html

Pragoti to begin assembling Pajero Sports in 2011

Our Correspondent

CHITTAGONG, Oct 30: The country’s biggest vehicle assembling industry Pragoti will bring in the market a new model jeep – Pajero Sports – a modern version of its V-31 Pajero in 2011.

The new model jeep will be assembled at the factory of Pragoti Industries Ltd (PIL) at Barabkunda under Sitakunda of Chittagong under joint venture with Mitsubishi Motors Corporation of Japan, PIL sources said.

The sources said, the PIL management has already held primary consultation with the Mitsubishi Motors. A four-member team of Mitsubishi Motors visited the PIL factory at Barabkunda on July 13 last. The team also had a meeting with the senior officials of Bangladesh Steel and Engineering Corporation (BSEC) in Dhaka on July 15.

The sources said, the sales representative of Mitsubishi in Bangladesh and other officials of the company agreed to assemble Pajero Sports and Sedan at the PIL factory. The PIL is currently assembling V-31 Pajero under long-term agreement with the Mitsubishi.

Following that visit a team from Bangladesh headed by a joint secretary of the Ministry of Industries (MoI) visited the Mitsubishi factory in Thailand for three days from September 9 last. The team included senior officials from BSEC and PIL, the sources said.

PIL Managing Director Zahiruddin Chowdhury said, the price of Pajero Sports is yet to be fixed. “The price will be fixed after completion of the production process. But the new model Pajero will be an upgraded version of V-31. So the price will be more than that of V-31,” he said.

Chowdhury said, the PIL is not in a position to go for assembling bus, truck or light vehicle except V-31 due to absence of long term agreement with any other company. “That is why we are trying to procure such vehicles from other countries under joint venture or we will assemble those vehicles by importing completely knocked-down (CKD) vehicles under long-term agreement and assemble them in our factory,” he said.

Although the PIL has the capacity to produce as many as 500 vehicles a year it has no factory of its own for repairing and maintenance of the vehicles. So the PIL has currently decided to invite proposals for a service-cum-maintenance workshop at its 43,560 square feet vacant land at Tejgaon in Dhaka under public private partnership, the MD added.

Pragati to assemble Mitsubishi brand luxury jeep, car

http://www.theindependent-bd.com/details.php?nid=147146

Pragati to assemble Mitsubishi brand luxury jeep, car
BSS, CHITTAGONG

Oct 24 : Owning a new luxury car at an affordable price would no longer be a distant dream for a local buyer with modest income level as state-owned Pragati Industries Ltd (PIL) has taken an initiative to assemble Japanese vehicle manufacturing giant Mitsubishi build Pajero brand jeep and Sedan brand car in its factory.

PIL officials told the news agency that local buyers could purchase such internationally recognized brand superior cars at just half price compared current market rate one has to pay for an imported one.

Apart from helping to bring back past glory of PIL, countrys lone motor vehicle assembling enterprise and a subsidiary of Bangladesh Steel and Engineering Corporation (BSEC), the officials said local vehicle market would witness a revolutionary change if the visionary project is materialized successfully.

PIL officials said, necessary discussion between BSEC and the Mitsubishi company to this effect has been finalized and initial car assembling process would start after signing of an agreement within a month.

As per preliminary estimate, the General Manager (Marketing) of PIL Mustafizur Rahman said, local buyers can purchase a 2500 CC Pajero brand jeep at a cost of Taka 40-45 lakhs instead of current market price of an imported one at Taka 70-80 lakhs while a 1500 CC Sedan car at Taka 12-13 lakhs against Taka 22-24 lakhs for an imported one.

A 4-member team led by BSEC Chairman M Abu Hafiz visited Mitsubishi factory in Thailand in last month to witness for themselves the facility and other technological aspects of the enterprise and had necessary discussion with the officials there to gather knowledge on required technological support for the PIL factory to start assembling Pajero brand jeep and Sedan car.

Earlier, a Japanese team comprising of Mitsubishi company engineers while visiting the PIL factory in July last expressed their satisfaction after witnessing the overall capacity and work atmosphere here.

Managing Director of PIL Engineer Zahiruddin Chowdhury told BSS that bilateral discussion with Mitsubishi authority is at final stage and only the issue of fixing the price of their supplied vehicles parts and PIL assembled cars was still unresolved.

” I am hopeful of settling the issue by October 30 and then we could reach an agreement” Zahiruddin said adding that the PIL would able to provide newly assembled luxury cars to buyers at a price close to a reconditioned one.

He said, the Mitsubishi authority would carry out three times sample test for PIL assembled cars before issuing final clearance for their marketing in Bangladesh market to ensure properly the quality and standard of the products up to its original level.

After signing of agreement, at first, a Mitsubishi company expert team would assemble a car at PIL factory in presence of local engineers and then they would supervise assemble process to be done by local men. Finally, the Japanese experts would physically check a car to be assembled fully by local experts without their help and then the Mitsubishi authority would issue work order in favour of PIL for commercial production if the new product is proved up to the mark.

Korean co to manufacture cars in Bangladesh

http://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/2009/10/14/81579.html

Korean co to manufacture cars in Bangladesh

Jasim Uddin Haroon

A South Korean automobile company unveiled a US$ 2.0 billion plan Monday to manufacture cars in Bangladesh aiming to grab the country’s fastest growing market and explore export abroad.

Tagaz Korea, established in 2006, has already purchased 350 acres of land at Bhairab in Kishoreganj to set up its second largest plant in Bangladesh, company officials said Monday.

“We want to start construction work at our site by the next six months and it will be completed within 24 months. We will then go for manufacturing cars,” Abdul Mannan Nasir, managing director of Cimillae Development Co, a concern of the Tagaz in Bangladesh, told the FE.

Officials at the Tagaz Korea, a Korea and Russia joint venture automaker, wants to manufacture cars in Bangladesh mainly because of its low labour cost and strategic location for export market.

Bangladesh is enjoying a special facility to European market under EBA (everything but arms) and labour is comparatively cheaper. Automobile industry is a semi-labour intensive industry.

Mr Nasir said Bangladeshi auto technicians, who are quick learners, have average wages between US$300-$400 a month, which is more than double in other developing nations.

He said: “A sedan costs US$ 10,000 in South Korea. But we can reduce the cost here by around $3000 due to cheap labour and other facilities existing in the country.”

He hinted that local buyers would get a sedan with 1500 cc engine capacity at Tk 700,000-Tk 800,000.

State-owned Pragati Industries Ltd has also taken a move to assemble Mitsubishi sedan by 2011.

Company officials said CCGI, a Korea-based leading funding agency, will invest in the Bangladesh plant.

Company officials said Bangladeshi partners will have 20 per cent stake in the joint venture.

Tagaz Korea, a comparatively new automobile maker, said around 30 South Korean companies will also set up their plants in Bangladesh to provide major raw materials for the plant.

Company sources said around 400 local companies will also be developed to supply different kinds of accessories for the plant.

Tagaz is currently rolling out over 500,000 cars from its Korea plant a year and it is mostly exported to European market. They are planning to manufacture at least 50,000 cars in Bangladesh’s plant a year.

Bangladesh’s car market has been growing steadily over the past few years mainly because of the credit facility. The average import of re-conditioned cars is around 30,000 a year.

Bangladesh to become carmaker

http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=109469

Bangladesh to become carmaker
Star Business Report

Bangladesh is set to become an automaker by the next two years, as a South Korean investment company yesterday announced a plan to invest $2 billion for setting up a Korean brand car manufacturing plant in the country.

The proposed car unit is expected to go into production in 2012, targeting to make 50,000 Korean Tagaz brand cars a year, and sell those in both local and international markets.

The plant will also manufacture cars to be branded locally.

If the plant is set up in time, it will be the first-ever car making venture in Bangladesh.

Industries Minister Dilip Barua formally unveiled the $2 billion investment plan, and termed it as a good sign for Bangladesh amid a sluggish foreign investment flow.

Cimillae Development Co Ltd, the local agent of Korean investment company CCGI, will coordinate the investment implementation.

Abdul Mannan, managing director of Cimillae Development, said local customers will get a Tagaz brand new car at only Tk 7 lakh. The company has already acquired land at Bhairab in Narsingdi for the plant.

Mannan said the plant will require two years to be set up. As many as 15,000 jobs will be created to run the car manufacturing plant.

CCGI Chairman Lee Young Choung said his company has already decided to invest more in Bangladesh besides the car manufacturing plant. He said CCGI has plans to invest in 30 sectors in future.

Presently Japanese reconditioned cars dominate the Bangladesh market. Around 20,000 used cars are imported each year, while the number is 2,000 for brand new cars.

Some brand new carmakers like Ford have already initiated move to enhance their presence in Bangladesh.

Japanese Toyota still leads the market in both used and brand new car segments.

Jessore auto workshops keep growing

http://www.newagebd.com/2009/sep/26/busi.html#2

Jessore auto workshops keep growing

Bodies of busses are being built at a workshop in Bakchar area in Jessore. — New Age photo

Saifur Rahman Saif . Jessore

People travelling on Jessore-Khulna highway may have noticed an area near Jessore town, which has got a different look with fairly large number of growing automobile workshops.

The area, Bakchar, has already become well-known among the locals and the industry people across the country as the automobile workshop village of the country’s frontier town of Jessore.

Few hundreds workers all the time of the day remain busy in making bodies, seats and other auto accessories at a large number of automobile workshops at the village, which is now the direct and indirect earning source of about 35,000 people.

Jamir Hossain, general secretary, Jessore Automobile Workshop Owners Association said over 800 members of the association own and work for the workshops in Bakchar.

At the beginning, both the owners and the workers were unskilled. They even did not get any opportunity of getting trainings in their trade. Financial support was a dream. But they started with the courage of making their effort a success.

And now the once unskilled workers are making bodies for buses and trucks and for other motorised vehicles. The quality, may not up to the benchmark of the original ones, but their products serve the local industry.

Kausar Ali, president, Jessore Automobile Workshop Owners Association told New Age that they had started making auto bodies in 80s when the importers started importing Hino vehicles.

Danco Engineering and Zia Engineering of Dhaka are the pioneers in this field. But now vehicle owners from about all the districts of the country come to Jessore to get auto bodies and other accessories for their vehicles.

The workers at Jessore make almost everything for vehicles other than the engine. They also do denting, painting and other jobs at a competitive price.

For an example, Shahin Kabir, owner of Shahin Automobile Workshop, said, ‘We make the body of a Hino bus for Tk 8 lakh, but people need Tk 13 lakh for importing a similar body’.

Malaysian group intends to build car plant

http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=103912

Malaysian group intends to build car plant
Star Business report

The Malaysian Agate group has expressed its interest to build a car plant in joint venture with local the Walton High Tech Industries, officials of both the sides disclosed it yesterday.

The group will also import Walton-made motorbike and freeze and market those in Malaysia and some other countries.

“Bangladesh is a big market for cars and other motorised vehicles. Production cost will be relatively cheaper because of huge surplus labours,” said Agate Group Managing Director Sultan Abdul Quadir at a press briefing at the Walton headquarters at Motijheel in Dhaka.

The group has also planned to invest in the country’s power sector and human resource development, Quadir said.

Agate’s proposals include setting up 1,000-megawatt power plant based on coal fired facilities, medical schools and other training facilities to create qualified nurses and other technicians and imparting training to the local people with a duration ranging from three months to three years for overseas job market.

In the field of international trade, the delegation on behalf of the Malaysian government expressed its desire to export 1.5 million tonnes of palm oil to Bangladesh.

Quadir expressed his interest during a meeting with Commerce Minister Faruk Khan at his office Sunday.

Agate Group operates duty free outlets to sell cigarettes, cosmetics, jewellery, leather goods, perfumes, fashion wear, watches, textiles and electrical goods in Malaysia. The company also operates colleges to provide courses in engineering, electronics and information technology.

It involves in software development for finger print identifications, general security systems and warfare related technological equipment.

The group has a coalmine in Indonesia and a 1,200-megawatt power plant in Gujarat in India.

Walton Directors Mahbubul Alam and Abul Bashar Howlader were present at the press conference.

Malaysian Agate Group wants to set up motor plant in Bangladesh

http://www.theindependent-bd.com/details.php?nid=140329

Malaysian Agate Group wants to set up motor plant in Bangladesh
UNB, Dhaka

Malaysian Agate Group is interested to set up a motor plant in Bangladesh, as it finds a huge market in the country and in its neighbouring nations for motor cars and other vehicles.

Addressing a press conference at Walton’s Motijheel office here, Agate Group’s Founder and Chairman Dr. Sultan Abdul Kadir said his group is willing to set up a motor plant in Bangladesh.

The Malaysian business group recently signed an agreement with local RB Group to import its Walton brand products to market those in South East Asian countries where Agate has its business.

The Agate Group’s chairman said his company finds very good potentials to market Walton products and motor vehicles to be produced here in countries like Malaysia, Indonesia, Cambodia, Singapore and Myanmar.

A delegation of Agate Group, led by Sultan Abdul Kadir, is now visiting Bangladesh to explore business potentials here. The delegation called on Commerce Minister Faruk Khan Sunday and visited Walton’s manufacturing unit in Gazipur yesterday. The press conference was informed that setting up a power plant and establishing a manpower training institute is also included in the Agate Group’s future venture in Bangladesh.

The training centre’s main target will be to train up the local skilled and unskilled manpower to send them to Malaysia. Mentioning Bangladesh as a brotherly country, Sultan Abdul Kadir said there is huge natural resources and very cheap labour in Bangladesh which the country could easily exploit to produce world-class products.

Local manufacture of 3W CNG auto rickshaws

http://nation.ittefaq.com/issues/2009/08/18/news0973.htm

Local manufacture of 3W CNG auto rickshaws

BSS, Dhaka

Encouraged by the government’s massive industrialisation process based on Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), Bangladesh Industrial Technical Assistance Centre (BITAC) has undertaken a plan to manufacture 3-wheeler (3W) CNG-driven auto rickshaws at home.

For the first time, the country is going to produce the motorised rickshaws using the local expertise and spare parts aimed at replacing the city’s non-motorised rickshaws, considered as one of the worst reasons for nagging gridlock in the capital. BITAC, an autonomous body under the Ministry of Industries, prepared a nine-year project proposal involving an initial amount of Taka 26.84 million for producing such an easy-going passenger vehicle. “Now the project awaits approval of the Ministry of Industries,” Director General of BITAC Ashish Kumar Paul told BSS on Monday.

He said the main objective of the project is to phase out non-motorised rickshaws in phases and put in operation an alternative mode of transportation with a rehabilitation option for the rickshawpuller.

The BITAC chief, however, made it clear that the rickshawpuller would get training on technical know-how with soft-loans to help them take up an alternative mode of transportation to earn their bread and butter.

Referring to the poor condition of a sizeable number of motorized vehicles on the city streets, Paul said most of the vehicles of such nature burn much fuel while stranded in traffic jam, contributing pollution enormously into the air to jeopardize the environment.

He, however, claimed that the existing intolerable gridlock could be reduced to a larger extent besides saving a huge sum of foreign currency when the 3W CNG-driven auto rickshaws would be marketed on commercial basis.

The large-scale manufacture of the 3W CNG-run rickshaws will be done with the use of small and medium workshops located in the city’s Dholaikhal, a hub of the country’s potential light engineering workshops.

Asked why the local light engineering workshops have been chosen for manufacturing the 3W CNG-run auto rickshaws instead of imports, Dr Ihsanul Karim, Additional Director of BITAC, said some of these workshops have a good setup and expertise also in manufacturing 3-wheller automobile parts.

“There is no alternative to promoting the local SMEs to further hasten the countrywide industrialization process” said Dr Karim with the hope that the new venture would contribute a lot in easing the traffic movement in the city.

Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) will be given the responsibility to carry out a design task following the ministry’s approval to start the project, he said.

Dr Karim also said that an initial estimation of Taka 2.50 lakh might be charged for each 3W CNG-run autorickshaw equipped with locally-produced sustainable light and medium industries. “Such an autorickshaw with sub-standard spare parts is being purchased in some local markets at over Taka 3.50 lakh,” he said.

Approximately 2,000 3W CNG-driven rickshaws could be produced every year depending on availability of local light and medium industries, said Dr Karim.

Pragati Industries plans to assemble Pajero Sports

http://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/2009/08/14/76075.html

Pragati Industries plans to assemble Pajero Sports

Jasim Uddin Haroon

The state-owned Pragati Industries Limited is planning to assemble Pajero Sports, a new model sports utility vehicle (SUV) of the Mitsubishi, shortly, officials said Tuesday.

Recently, a technical and commercial team from Mitsubishi visited the Pragati plant in Chittagong and met its high officials in Dhaka.

“The visiting team has been pleased seeing our facility and we expect to assemble this shortly,” said Zahiruddin Chowdhury, managing director of the Pragati Industries Limited.

Mitsubishi, Japanese automaker, introduced the SUV a few years back and is now marketing it in different parts of the world.

The new model SUV is a seven-seater with 2500 cc engine capacity. It is also equipped with other modern facilities.

Quoting Asia commercial chief of Mitsubishi Kazuhaita Ogata, Mr Zahir said the team is highly pleased with the Pragati infrastructure.

Currently, Pragati assembles Pajero G-31, a nine-seater with 2350 cc engine capacity.

It assembled 446 Pajero G-31s in the last fiscal and it might assemble 500 vehicles in the current fiscal year, according to sources.

The sources said the Mitsubishi will provide some technical support from its plant located in Thailand.

The Pragati chief said: “We’ve asked the visiting team to introduce octane system converting the diesel system to have a good market in the country.”

Mr Zahir said they are yet to complete negotiation on the prices of the parts of the new model saying “We will finish it in the next meeting later this month or in the first week of the September when another team will visit Bangladesh.”

The prices of such SUVs will come down if those are assembled locally, Pragati officials said.

The government has taken this move to revamp the state-owned automobile company, which had for many years been struggling to survive.

Mitsubishi, the Japanese automobile company, has an agreement to assemble Pajero with state-owned Pragati since 1998.

Pragati, formerly known as Gandhara, had launched its operation for assembling motorised vehicles by importing CKD (completely knocked down) parts in 1966.

It first started assembling Vauxhall cars of General Motors but after the independence of Bangladesh the work stopped.

During the 1980s, it assembled Maruti cars in a limited scale.

“We cannot be cost-effective if we produce a limited number of cars,” Zahir added.

Taiwan motorbike co wants to invest $30m in Nilhamari

http://www.newagebd.com/2009/jul/15/busi.html#8

Taiwan motorbike co wants to invest $30m in Nilhamari
Our Correspondent . Nilphamari

A Taipei-based motorbike company showed interest in setting up a factory at Uttara Export Processing Zone of Nilphamari, investing $30 million.

The company, however, wants access to local market besides exporting their products.

Uttara EPZ sources informed that a team of Taiwanese company, LSI Industries Limited, led by its director Russell Woe along with parliiamnet member Asaduzzaman Noor, visited the Uttara EPZ recently.

After the visit, the director of the company said his company would set up the factory that could be in 60 plots out of total 202 plots of the EPZ.

This company, if go ahead with its plan, will bring the single largest investment in the Uttara EPZ.

Established in 1996 near Nilphamari, Uttara EPZ so far does not see any big investment, local industry people said.

Tyre production soon using local rubber

http://www.newagebd.com/2009/jun/17/busi.html#3

Tyre production soon using local rubber
Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha . Dhaka

The communications minister, Syed Abul Hossain, on Tuesday said tyre production under a joint venture would begin in the country soon using local rubber.

He said this while inaugurating marketing of Tata Jenon pickup vans produced by Tata Motors Ltd and Kasumina tyre produced by a Vietnamese company.

The Indian high commissioner, Pinak Ranjan Chakravarty, Vietnamese ambassador, Noguen Ven Thet, chief of Sales Department of Tata Motors Ltd South Asia Division, Bishwadev Sen Gupta, Nitol Motors managing director, Abdul Musabbir Ahmad, and the Tata Motors country manager, M Ram Chandan, addressed the function with Nitol Motors chairman Matlub Ahmad presiding.

The minister said the government had undertaken several steps to improve the country’s communications system including reducing traffic jam in the cities.

About 400 environment-friendly buses will be procured from India to this end, he added.

Motorcycle assembling to be developed

http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=88260

Motorcycle assembling to be developed
Says minister
Unb, Dhaka

Leaders of the International Business Forum of Bangladesh (IBFB) yesterday put forward a set of recommendations for the development of motorcycle-assembling sector.

They sought tax rebate for importing raw materials used to manufacture spare parts for motorcycles, formation of a committee to monitor the procedures of raw materials import and tax holiday for manufacturing motorcycles.

The recommendations came when an IBFB delegation met Commerce Minister Faruk Khan at his office. IBFB President Mahmudul Islam Chowdhury led the six-member delegation.

The minister assured that all necessary steps would be taken for the development of motorcycle manufactures and its spare parts.

Japan to invest $7.021m in CEPZ

http://www.bssnews.net/newsDetails.php?cat=8&id=30159&date=2009-04-26&PHPSESSID=37b46c3b86a49d68fca694b4e03a3ea2

Japan to invest $7.021m in CEPZ

DHAKA, Bangladesh, April 26 (BSS) – M/s Meiji Corporation Limited, a Japanese company, will set up a motor parts manufacturing industry in Chittagong Export Processing Zone (CEPZ).

This hundred percent foreign owned company will invest 7.021 million US Dollar in setting up their unit and will produce and export motor parts.

The company will also create employment opportunity for 259 people, including two foreign nationals, said BEPZA press release.

An agreement to this effect has been signed between the Bangladesh Export Processing Zones Authority (BEPZA) and the M/s Meiji Corporation Limited in BEPZA Complex here today.

Prasanta Bhushan Barua, Member (Investment Promotion) of BEPZA and Yoshiyasu Mitsumura, Executive President of M/s Meiji Corporation Limited signed the agreement on behalf of their respective organization.

Other officials from the respective organizations were present on the occasion, the release added.

Dilip for producing car domestically within 2012

http://www.theindependent-bd.com/details.php?nid=122968

Dilip for producing car domestically within 2012
BSS, DHAKA

Industries Minister Dilip Barua yesterday said the government is working with a target of manufacturing cars at home within 2012, using own technology.

“The government will set up a separate ‘automobile industrial park’ for capacity building of the automobile workshops, modernization and meeting the demand of trained technicians in this sector” he said.

Dilip Barua was talking to the leaders of Bangladesh Automobile Workshop Owners Association who called on him at his office, an official handout said.

Association President M Belayet Hossain and Secretary General Engineer Jahangir Alam, among others, were present.

The minister said the government would provide necessary support to the local automobile workshops for the sake of industrialization and self-reliant economy.

Automobile workers are playing an important role in creating employment and earning remittances. Skilled manpower in this sector will accelerate the process of industrialization in the country, the minister said.

The association leaders said expansion of automobile industry would help build a ‘Digital Bangladesh.’

“Car production is possible domestically, if infrastructural facilities and government patronization are given to local automobile industries”, the leaders said.