Investors for keeping EPZs open amid lockdown
BEPZIA made the call saying they have export commitments with the buyers for the urgent delivery of goods
Bangladesh EPZ Investor's Association (BEPZIA) has urged the government to keep the export processing zones out of the purview of the nationwide lockdown scheduled to begin from Monday.
BEPZIA Chairman M Nasir Uddin issued a letter to the executive chairman of Bangladesh Export Processing Zone Authority (BEPZA) and urged to make necessary arrangements in this regard.
The BEPZIA chairman said that they have export commitments with the buyers for the urgent delivery of goods. He demanded that the EPZs be kept out of the purview of the nationwide lockdown to facilitate smooth export.
He, on behalf of all investors, also urged to keep all the export-related government offices open during the period.
"In the EPZs, there is a big community of workers from different corners of the country. If all EPZs remain closed during the lockdown, all the workers will rush to their village homes, posing the risk of faster spread of coronavirus," said the letter.
"On the other hand, the owners have to pay salaries and festival bonuses to workers for Eid-ul-Adha. It will become impossible if the factories remain shut for lockdown," reads the letter.
