Next steps
Government Watch
Source: BDPolicyLab Watch record and cited public sourcesAs of 2026-07-05
The BJMC is focused on transitioning 25 suspended state-owned mills to private management by December 2026 while addressing legal and jurisdictional delays.
Minister of Textiles and Jute reported 9 of 25 BJMC mills are operational under private management.
Prime Minister held a meeting with industrialists to discuss private investment in BJMC infrastructure.
Minister confirmed 14 BJMC mills have been leased to private operators with ongoing processes for the remainder.
Minister announced plans to establish an Inland Container Depot at MM Jute Mills Ltd.
BJMC was formed on 26 March 1972 under PO 27 of 1972 to supervise ~78 jute mills nationalised at independence; mill count consolidated over decades to 25 operational units by the time the government closed all production on 1 July 2020, laying off more than 25,000 permanent and 32,000+ temporary workers with golden handshake payments of up to Tk 54 lakh per person. BJMC has since pivoted from production management to lease compliance monitoring. Current head (Chairman): the official BJMC website referenced a new appointment on 04/12/2024 but the name could not be verified from publicly available sources as of May 17, 2026; current_head left null pending verification. Staff count of 2,634 (1,122 officers + 1,512 employees including those on post-retirement leave) is sourced from the Ministry of Textiles and Jute request to Ministry of Finance (Financial Express, 2025); this is distinct from the 25,000+ production workers who were retrenched in 2020. Annual budget BDT: BJMC does not publish a formal annual budget as a revenue-earning entity; the figure 'over Tk 180 crore loss in FY2023-24' and 'Tk 137 crore salary expenditure' are from TBS/Daily Star citing Bangladesh Economic Review and BJMC internal data. The Tk 10,000 crore in outstanding mill bank loans is a pre-closure figure reported by TBS and The Daily Star citing government documents; not cleared as of May 2026. Textiles and Jute Adviser (interim government): Sheikh Bashir Uddin (took oath 10 November 2024) oversees the ministry; State Minister Md Shariful Alam (from the BNP-led government formed February 2026) made the 7,200-jobs statement at National Jute Day 2026. Lease structure: 5-20 year terms, extendable; lessees permitted to produce both jute and textile products in the mills. [2026-06-08 audit correction] Leased-mills workforce mis-stated ~7,500; cited BSS source (Apr 2026) states ~9,500. Figure sits in recent_activity, not auto-edited.
Source: 17 primary source linksAs of 2026-07-05