Leaders of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), has demanded immediate publication of the revised Bangladesh National Building Code (BNBC) to help the sector avoid costly western prescriptions further. They also disagreed with the possibilities of achieving the target of $50 billion in export earnings from the readymade garment (RMG) sector by 2021.
After the Rana Plaza building collapse, the industry had to invest a huge amount of money to implement the safety measures in line with the prescriptions of the western retailers' platforms - Accord and Alliance - that missed the national context.
As a result, the prescription disrupts and ends up being super expensive for the sector. During the last six years, $ 1.5 billion has been invested in installing the equipments only for fire safety. World class fire hydrant system and fire alarms have been installed but those are not working due to humidity. These leaders suggested that the $50 billion export earnings target, fixed after the Rana Plaza building collapse, should be focused on value addition and retention as the number only creates confusion. Others sectors expected to develop resilience strategies for the supply chain of RMG in the country should also be incorporated into the study.
