C T Online Desk: The steel industry is playing a crucial role in the economic sector. 70% of the country’s steel is made in Chittagong. It is getting bigger and bigger and so is the investment.
Due to various reasons including geographical advantages such as the main port of the country (Chittagong port), ship breaking yard, the production of steel products is convenient here. Due to which import of raw materials, transportation of goods produced across the country through ports, collection of raw materials from ship breaking yards and for various reasons it is easy to sell products at competitive prices in the most competitive market from Chittagong. Although various companies have tried to set up re-rolling mills in different parts of the country, they have not been able to increase their competitive edge by avoiding the geographical advantages of Chittagong entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurs in Chittagong have taken full advantage of this.
The steel industry in Bangladesh originated in Chittagong. Akbar Ali Afrikawala established the first steel industry in Chittagong. The three brothers set up the first steel factory in Nasirabad area of the city in 1952. It was called ‘East Bengal Steel Re-rolling Mills’. After independence the name was changed to Bangladesh Steel Re-rolling Mills or BSRM. It was the first steel making factory in the country. Akbar Ali was a native of Adriel district in Gujarat, India. Later his son Alihosain Akbar Ali took the helm of this business at a young age. From the very beginning he focused on the modern and technological advancement of the steel industry in Bangladesh. Developed by Bangladesh Steel Re-rolling Mills or BSRM. Then gradually this industry spread all over the country including Chittagong.
Later, in 1960, the first government owned steel factory in Bangladesh was officially established in Patenga area of the city. It was called Chittagong Steel Mills. It was established by the then government of Pakistan keeping in view the overall steel demand of East Pakistan. The factory went into commercial production upto 1986. The production capacity of the steel plant was about one and a half lakh tonnes per annum. Later Abul Khair Steel (AKS), GPH Steel, Ratanpur Steel Re-Rolling Mill (RSRM), Kabir Steel Re-Rolling Mill (KSRM), Golden Steel, Shitalpour Auto Steel Mill (SARM), HM Steel were gradually established in Chittagong. Bayezid Steel, Seema Steel Mills, PHP Integrated Steel Mills etc. These factories meet about 60 per cent of the demand for rod production in the steel sector of the country.
According to the concerned sources, the entrepreneurs of the steel industry in Chittagong initially set up manual re-rolling mills at small and medium scale. Later in the nineties, a number of companies, including BSRM, set up factories for the production of modern technology steel products. Mohammad Sarwar Alam, director of the Mostafa-Hakim Group, said, “The steel industry is developing rapidly across the country, including Chittagong.” About 70% of the steel produced in Bangladesh is being produced in Chittagong. The country’s steel mills are using the world’s highest quality technology. The quality of the rod is on par with all the developed countries in the world. Even a decade and a half ago, rods were imported in this country. Now that picture has changed. Rods are now being exported from Bangladesh. The country-made rods are also being used for the construction of Padma bridges and tunnels along with all the mega projects in the country.
