S. Alam & Co., one of the top industrial groups of the country, has taken the master plan of various projects in joint initiative with the government to overcome the ailing condition of the country's sugar industry. These projects will be implemented with the help of Bangladesh Sugar and Food Industries Corporation- BSFIC and the Ministry of Industry. These include - improved sugarcane production and training of farmers through the use of technology, construction of modern sugarcane processing factories, 6 MW power co-generation, construction of agro-voltaic solar power plants, construction of by-product based plants, development of cold storage and agro processing industries including lifting, construction of packaging factory etc. The said projects will be implemented in Setabganj of Dinajpur and sugar mill area of Faridpur.
1. Alam & Co. will take initiative in producing high quality sugarcane. In this regard, the company will work jointly with BSFIC, BSRI and international researchers. Modern technology including cloning, genetic engineering will be used to develop different hybrid breeds. At the same time initiatives will be taken to maximize production by training farmers.
Besides, S. Alam & Co a modern sugarcane processing plant of 1250 TCD capacity will be constructed at Setabganj Sugar Mill in Dinajpur, which can be expanded up to a maximum of 2500 TCD. And will build a modern sugarcane processing plant of 1000 TCD capacity at Faridpur Sugar Mill, which can also be expanded up to a maximum of 2500 TCD.
12 thousand tons of premium quality brown sugar will be produced from here every year which will increase to 15 to 18 thousand tons per year. Since it is not possible to earn profit from an industrial establishment without running it throughout the year, a sugar refinery will be set up by S. Alam & Co. Through this, it will be possible to refine about 900 Tpd of imported raw sugar annually when there is demand (in season) and 1000 Tpd of raw sugar during low demand (off season).
Further, power plants of 6 MW or more capacity will be constructed to meet the demand of sugar factories, sugar refineries and other plants, factories. In this case, sugarcane residue or waste will be used as boiler fuel. Also, dual fuel boilers can be used, where coal is also used as fuel.
Besides, S. Alam & Co will build 100 MW capacity Agro-Voltaic Solar Power Plant in Setabganj and 10 MW capacity in Faridpur sugar mill area. It will require 400 acres and 40 acres of land respectively. Various crops will be produced under this solar plant project. After domestic consumption, excess power from the solar plant will be fed into the national grid.
Sugar mills have various by-products such as molasses, filter press mud and ash. Molasses will be sold to Keru & Co to these plants for other by-products will be produced accordingly. Apart from this, solar plant and storage of seasonal crops in Dinajpur and Faridpur areas will be required. Therefore cold storage of 2000 metric tons capacity will be built in sugar mill area of Setabganj and Faridpur.
Product diversification is essential to transform Setabganj Sugar Mill and Faridpur Sugar Mill into profitable ventures. Dinajpur and Faridpur regions have an abundance of vegetables and fruits, which present a significant opportunity for agricultural processing. S. Alam & Co plans to set up a vegetable processing plant to produce frozen, canned, dehydrated and pickled vegetables.
Also- Manufacture of canned fruit juices, mixed fruit juices and dried fruits from different types of fruits, manufacture of frozen French fries, potato chips, starch, pasta, noodles, soups, frozen meals, canned foods, pickles, cereals and other food products. And there is also a plan to process S. Alam and Co.
The proposed factories will require different types of PP bags, LDPE packets and different types of packaging for the products. Therefore, S.Alam & Co will set up one packaging factory in both Setabganj and Faridpur. The production capacity of these factories will be determined through feasibility study.
S.Alam & Co will create employment by building sustainable agro-based industries, boost the local economy and strengthen the country's economy. These investments will make a significant contribution.
The MoU signing ceremony of this initiative was attended by - Honorable Minister of the Ministry of Industry Nurul Majid Mahmud Humayun, MP; Zakia Sultana, Senior Secretary, Ministry of Industries; Ministry of Industries Additional Secretary (State Corporations) SM Alam; Additional Secretary (Planning) of the Ministry of Industry. Shamimul Haq; BSFIC Secretary Chowdhury Ruhul Amin Kaiser and BSFIC Chairman Sheikh Shoibul Alam NDC. In addition, S. Alam and Co on behalf present were - Director Belal Ahmed, Director Ashraful Alam, Executive Director (Finance), Subrata Kumar Bhowmik, FCA; Adviser. Arifur Rahman Apu; Accounts, Deputy General Manager, Md. Maniruzzaman, FCA; Accounts, AGM. Nazrul Islam, ACA; SS Power 1 Limited Manager, Technical Services Nagib Mahfuz and others.