Shakhawat Hossain
State-run Pragati Industries Limited is set to assemble sedan cars of the Japanese automaker Mitsubishi Motor Corporation in Chittagong from next year.
Bangladesh Steel and Engineering Corporation chairman, Mohammad Abu Hafiz, told New Age on Tuesday that the industries ministry and the Mitsubishi authorities agreed to set up a joint venture plant to manufacture sedan cars.
The price of such car will be at least 30 per cent lower than that of the price for existing and available Mitsubishi sedan cars, which are imported and marketed by a private dealer in the country, he added.
A Mitsubishi led by its Asia Regional Manager Kazuhide Ogata made a formal proposal in this regard to the industries minister Dilip Barua at his ministry office in Dhaka on Tuesday.
The meeting decided that a memorandum of understanding would be signed in this regard soon enabling Pragati to assemble sedan cars, a fast growing segment in motorised vehicles, first time in the country.
The Japanese car marker showed the interest after companies from South Korea and Malaysia planned to build car plants in the country to tap the growing market.
Sales of sedan cars increased substantially in the recent years as Bangladesh Road Transport Authority registered 61 cars a day between July and December 2009.
Pragati, a subsidiary of BSEC, has been assembling popular brand Pajero of Mitshibishi.
The company assembled 2,000 Pejero cars annually in recent years, which are purchased by public sector.
Pragati will also assemble sedan cars for the private sector, along with the public sector, said the BESC chairman.
Besides, Pragati will market a new type of sport jeep instead of Pajero in another new plant which would require investment worth more than $10 million by the Mitsubishi, he added.
The Japanese car maker has agreed to provide technological help in setting up a factory of spare parts.
Earlier, the Malaysian Agate group expressed interest to build a car plant in joint venture with local Walton High Tech Industries.
It selected Bangladesh as production cost here will be relatively cheap because of huge surplus laboures, said Agate Group Managing Director Sultan Abdul Quadir in last August.
Two months later, a South Korean investment company announced a plan to invest $2 billion for setting up a car manufacturing plant in the country.
The proposed car unit is expected to go into production in 2012. The unit has a target to make 50,000 Korean Tagaz brand cars a year, and sell those in both local and international markets.
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