Sylhet, Sept 23 (V7N) – Commerce, Industry, and Textiles and Jute Minister Khandaker Abdul Muktadir has said the government will move quickly to implement a project to build a packing house and cold storage facility in Sylhet to expand opportunities for preserving and exporting agricultural products.
He said the proposed facility would be developed following a necessary feasibility study, drawing on the model of the packing house and cold storage facility in Shyampur. The project could later be expanded according to demand, he added.
The minister made the remarks while addressing a stakeholder consultation meeting on the proposed Sylhet Packing House-cum-Cold Storage project at Sylhet Circuit House on Tuesday.
The meeting was organised by the divisional office of the Department of Agricultural Marketing.
“If the project is implemented quickly, Sylhet can be developed into one of Bangladesh’s major agricultural export regions,” Muktadir said, calling for cooperation among agricultural entrepreneurs, business leaders and relevant government officials to advance the initiative.
He said establishing infrastructure for the storage, packaging and export of agricultural products in Sylhet would benefit farmers and agricultural entrepreneurs while reducing post-harvest losses.
The facility would also create greater opportunities for Sylhet’s agricultural products to enter international markets, he said.
The meeting was chaired by Sylhet Divisional Commissioner Mohammad Mashiur Rahman.
Among those present were Sylhet City Corporation Administrator Abdul Qayyum Chowdhury, Sylhet Development Authority Chairman Rezaul Hasan Koyes Lodi, Range Deputy Inspector General Mohammad Jahangir Hossain, Sylhet Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sarwar Morshed Shamim, Deputy Commissioner Abdullah Al Mamun, District Council Administrator Abul Kaher Chowdhury Shamim, Sylhet Metropolitan BNP President Nasim Hossain, and Department of Agricultural Marketing Deputy Director Julia Yasmin Milly.
Officials from various government and private agencies and representatives of the business community also attended the meeting.
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