FE Report

A Japanese investor demanded Sunday handover of a fully export-oriented fish processing plant to the Japan-Bangladesh joint venture (JV), Shuvo Food Processing Industries Ltd, to make it operational.

The plant, leased out to the Shuvo Food, has been remaining out of operation for the last seven years over a prolonged court battle.

Ryo Takeuchi, marketing manager of Shuvo Food Processing Industries Ltd, at a press conference in the city said that over 1,000 people would have got jobs and the country could have earned at least Tk 1,000 million by exporting frozen fish if the plant was operational.

He alleged that the plant at Pagla in Narayanganj could not be handed over to them, despite the court's order to do so, because of the idiosyncrasy of Bangladesh Fish Development Corporation (BFDC).

The High Court also ordered the secretary of the concerned ministry, the BFDC and the District Commissioner (DC) of Narayanganj to hand over the plant to the company. But it did not happen as the minister concerned of the then government meddled in, said Takeuchi, representative in Bangladesh of Hasegawa Hidetaka, chairman of the company.

Kabir Ahmed, managing director of the company, told reporters that they took lease of the plant from BFDC in 1998 for 20 years through uncontested bidding on conditions including paying monthly rent to the corporation after start of export.

Shuvo Food also paid Tk 0.47 million to the BFDC as security money, he added.

Ahmed also said the joint venture company put in Tk 100 million to renovate the out-of-use infrastructure of the plant. But they were evicted on a short notice in October, 2004 when they were ready to start export after having received approval from the European Union.

'The lower court on February 20, 2006 gave a verdict in favour of us and asked BFDC to hand over the plant. The corporation appealed to the higher court just to dilly-dally. The High Court even fined the corporation Tk 20,000 on June 3 last year and ordered the DC of Narayanganj to hand over the plant to Shuvo Food.'

But the BFDC filed a leave-to-appeal with the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court against the order of the High Court and the case is still under trial, he added.

Takeuchi said this prolonged litigation process has adversely affected Shuvo Food in both Japan and Bangladesh and faced a loss of Tk 230 million.

He sought direct interference from the higher authority of the government including the Prime Minister to solve the issue and make the Japan-Bangladesh joint venture food processing plant operational.