Valuable raw materials for garment manufacturing, ready-to-export apparel, and important samples have been destroyed in the fire that broke out at the cargo village of Shahjalal International Airport, said Inamul Haq Khan, senior vice president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA).
A BGMEA delegation led by Inamul visited the fire-damaged site at 1:45pm on Sunday.
“The fire incident at the cargo village at the airport yesterday (Saturday) is very unfortunate,” Inamul said after the visit.
“We at BGMEA are deeply concerned about this incident.”
“This accident has severely damaged the country’s export trade, especially the garment industry,” he said.
“Usually, high-value goods and urgent shipments are sent by air. The fire has destroyed such important goods.”
He added that the destroyed items included garments prepared for export, valuable raw materials for manufacturing, and, most importantly, samples.
“These samples directly open up new business opportunities and are essential for business development,” he said.
“Losing these samples means there is a risk of missing out on future business opportunities.”
Inamul said efforts were underway to assess the damage and collect information.
“We have written to BGMEA members asking for a list of damaged goods in the prescribed format,” he said.
“An online data collection portal has also been opened to gather information quickly.”
“Almost all of our members send goods through the airport,” he added.
“Every day, 200 to 250 factories export their products by air. Accordingly, the amount of damage is very high.”
“BGMEA is quickly holding coordination meetings with the relevant authorities—the airport, the civil aviation and tourism ministry, customs authorities, and others—to collect all necessary information,” he said.
Inamul also made several demands to address the damage, including overall cooperation and compensation for affected entrepreneurs and ensuring quick clearance for new shipments to maintain regular garment industry operations.
He urged everyone to remain vigilant to prevent such incidents, particularly during the dry season.
“We went inside and saw the devastated condition,” he said.
“The entire import section was burnt down. We realised how terrible it was when we went inside.”
“It is a very bad situation inside,” he added.
“We don’t know how long it will take, but it may take 15 days to a month to get it back up again.”
BGMEA Director Faisal Samad said, “We met the commerce advisor here, he came, and we had a meeting on-site. The entire place has been assessed.”
“He immediately said that now there is no space for imports,” Faisal added.
“To make it convenient, a new space will be arranged in Terminal 3.”
He said BGMEA members who import goods regularly would be able to clear them faster—within 36 hours instead of the previous 72 and that the authorities had sought the association’s cooperation in implementing this.
“We have also formed a working committee with customs to expedite the release of goods and prevent delays,” Faisal said.
“We have discussed internal measures in that interest.”
“In addition, goods will now be unloaded on Fridays and Saturdays,” he said. “The weekly holiday that existed before will no longer apply.”
-bdnews24.com
