Business

Bangladesh Faces Dearth Of Technicians To Implement Green Textile Factories

Lack of appropriately qualified middle-level technicians and local technical know-how inhibits Bangladesh in a major way from building eco-friendly or green factories even as the demand for these is increasing globally. The country has high aspirations to build green factories. However, they are faced with the problem of massive hiring costs from external sources.

Most companies in Bangladesh that have opted for green factories are forced to recruit technical experts from abroad, according to the manufacturers. Since 2016, Bangladesh has set up 67 LEED certified green factories in the RMG sector. This happens to be the highest in the world. In all, world over, there are 280 factories that are registered with the US GBC as green factories.

However, despite this impressive record, Bangladesh is faced with grim prospects due to lack of skilled local manpower. Consequently, they are forced to hire consultants from Sri Lanka, India, Japan and other countries, paying them a high sum for retainership.

Highlighting this phenomenon, Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) Vice-President (finance) Mohammad Nasir stated in a media interaction, “In many industries, businesses have achieved international certification using solar power and various green technologies. But there are no mid-level Bangladeshi technicians and consultants to build these factories. We have to bring in consultants from abroad.”

“It takes 20-30% additional investment for setting up green plants but there is no financing source to undertake this endeavor. Consequently, very few manufacturers take interest in setting up green factories,” he concluded.

“There is mismanagement in everything. Building some green islands in a sea of mismanagement is pointless. We have to go towards green development overall. Therefore, efforts should be made to get assistance from global green funding,” opined Dr Saleemul Huq, Director International Centre for Climate Change and Development in a media statement.