Around 76 per cent of tanneries in Savar’s Tannery Industrial Zone have yet to fulfill their payments for the plots that the Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industries Corporation (Bscic) gave them to establish their factories, even though the deadline has passed.
By 2021, the Bscic project was finished, and by then, the tanneries that had moved from Hazaribagh in Dhaka to Savar were supposed to have paid their land rent.
The industrial estate’s supervisor, Bscic, reports that 121 of the 162 tanneries have not yet paid their land leases, and as a result, they owe a total of Taka 150 crore for the value of the plots they were given.
Owners of tanneries who failed to register by the initial deadline faced a 5 per cent interest fee. However, the interest fee has been removed to incentivise owners to register as soon as possible.
The Buriganga River was seriously contaminated when tanneries in Dhaka’s Hazaribagh area released their waste into it. The Savar Leather Industrial City was built to protect the river by moving all tanneries.
Bscic developed the industrial estate spanning 199 acres along the banks of the Dhaleswari River at a cost of over Taka 1000 crore. It comprises 205 plots, with 162 tanneries allocated various plot sizes, ranging from 10,000 sq.ft. to 300,000 sq.ft.
The land in Savar Industrial City was initially priced at Taka 1,700 per sq.ft. but was later reduced to Taka 499 per sq.ft. at the request of tannery owners. However, despite the lower price, tannery owners, who were supposed to pay it upon project completion, failed to do so.
According to Bscic officials, the project was implemented with a loan from the Ministry of Finance. Upon project completion, the borrowed funds were meant to be repaid along with a 5 per cent interest rate.
However, Bscic is now facing hurdles in reimbursing the money to the government as a majority of tannery owners remain non-compliant on plot payments. No action has been taken so far.
Bharat Tex Special Report 2026 
