Rajshahi: Labour and Employment and Shipping Adviser Brigadier General (Retd.) Sakhawat Hossain has emphasized the necessity for establishing more industries in the Rajshahi region to generate employment opportunities. Addressing an event titled ‘Celebrating 2,000 Jobs – Aiming for 12,000’ at Barendra Rajshahi Textile Limited, he highlighted the vast manpower in the region that often migrates to other areas for work, which poses significant challenges.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, PRAN-RFL Group, a prominent business conglomerate in the country, has successfully created 2,000 jobs in just six months by reviving the long-closed Rajshahi Textile Mills, now known as Barendra Rajshahi Textile Limited. The group plans to generate an additional 10,000 jobs by investing in labour-intensive sectors such as tele-marketing and ready-made garments.
Following the transfer of the site from BTMC in December, PRAN-RFL initiated the revival process, repairing and repurposing the only usable shed on the premises. This has facilitated the commencement of production activities focused on bags and shoes. Adviser Sakhawat Hossain expressed that if more companies establish industries in the region, many people could find employment opportunities and improve their livelihoods.
The event also featured speeches from the Secretary to the Ministry of Labour and Employment, AHM Shafiquzzaman, and the Chairman of PRAN-RFL Group, Ahsan Khan Chowdhury. During the ceremony, appointment letters were distributed to 10 male and female youths, who had received vocational training at the UCEP training centre.
Ahsan Khan Chowdhury expressed the group’s mission of creating significant employment opportunities through investments in labour-intensive industries in Rajshahi. He announced plans for developing a fully sustainable green industrial park with all products being export-oriented, and revealed the launch of a tele-marketing hub aimed at creating thousands of jobs for women in the region.