Annan Chemical Industries Limited’s Alum Plant Re-Commissioning and Exchange of Views

Nure Alam Jibon, Dhaka : Annan Chemical Industries Limited is a promising Alum manufacturing company. Dhaka and Chittagong WASA are the majority buyers of alum produced by this company. The High Court Division of the Hon’ble Supreme Court reconstituted the Board of Directors comprising of 5 (five) independent directors on 07 June 2022 to restart the activities of this institution, which has been closed for a long time due to court cases.

The reconstituted Board of Directors has ex-Chairman of Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corporation Mr. Dipak Ranjan Datta, FCA, eminent industrialist Mr. Md. Nurul Hasan Mia as Managing Director and retired Bangladesh Army officer Colonel Md. Manirul Islam, psc as Director, eminent businessman Mr. Mohammad Iqbal Jamal and eminent Accountant. Professional Muhammad Shajedul Hoque Talukder, FCA. Mr. Dipak Ranjan Datta, FCA voluntarily resigned from the post for personal reasons after serving as the Chairman of the Board of Directors for one year.

Then the Hon’ble High Court Division appointed Mr. Md. Rashadul Islam, the former Director General (Grade-1) of the NGO Affairs Bureau under the Prime Minister’s Office as the Chairman on 19 June 2023.

Due to long closure and financial crisis, the Alum factory of Anan Chemical Industries Limited located in East Vakum, Joymontop, Singair, Manikganj was in an unsecured an unsafe condition as there was   no security guard and electricity line even.

There were several incidents of theft and robbery in the factory. Most of the fittings plant parts including electrical equipment were stolen in the factory. Due to long time unprotected condition acid accumulation inside the acid tanks for a long time, the tanks became useless.

The interior of the factory was filled with forests. On the other hand, Annan’s important documents were not found as the rented office of Annan in Dhaka was closed. Some documents and old parts of the factory lab were collected from Rahman Chemical Industries Ltd.  So far, the office equipment’s, nothing was found in the factory office building except for a few small tables.

In the year 2022, the reconstituted Board of Annan Chemical Industries Ltd. decided to reopen the factory as per the direction of the Hon’ble High Court Division, but due to financial crisis, no activities could be implemented. In July 2023, with the sincere efforts of the Board of Directors under the leadership of Chairman Mr. Md. Rashadul Islam, some Pay Orders were found in the review of the old documents collected from Rahman Chemical Industries Ltd. With the sincere cooperation of ENGR. TAQSEM A KHAN, Managing Director of Dhaka WASA, Annan’s dues were collected later on. Then by utilizing the said funds, as per the instructions of the Hon’ble High Court Division, with the advice of the technical experts, proper activities were taken with the aim of re-opening the Anan factory.

Auditing a total of 05 years from 2018-19 to 2022-2023; Installation of CC cameras for adequate security provision including recruitment of manpower for factory work; Noteworthy is the repair of the factory plant lying in unsecured  and unsafe condition, reassembly of unrepairable parts and preparation of the factory for commercial production. In addition, establishment of the company’s head office at the factory site, establishment of Lianjo office in Dhaka, construction of eco-friendly dormitory building inside the factory for the residence of the staff on duty in the factory, partial repair of the plant store located next to the factory for storing the products and raw materials produced in the factory, cleaning the forest inside the factory and planting environment-friendly trees, beautifying trees are planted for beautification.

It may be noted here that the houses built for the factory staff are found in a dilapidated and unusable condition. The profile sheets used in factory store canopies are found to be rusted and dilapidated.

As Annan’s operations were closed for a long time, the certificates required to carry out Annan’s commercial activities had expired. The current Board of Directors undertakes to update the certificates. Already trade license renewal, 9 and 12 updating of RJSC, environmental clearance renewal, membership of Manikganj Chamber of Commerce has been done. Renewal of factory license, fire license, acid use and transportation, import license is ongoing. Apart from this, the process of updating the tax and VAT related activities of the previous years including payment of Annan land rent is also ongoing. It is expected that the required certificates will be updated within this month. It is to be noted that although Annan had a fire license earlier, there was no approved fire safety plan. The board of directors has prepared the fire safety plan and got it duly approved by the directorate of fire service and civil defense.

On April 26, 2024, the experimental production of Annan factory was carried out. According to own lab report quality the PH rate of produced Alum is 2.88. Today 03/05/2024 normal production activities of Anan factory have been resumed. We hope the PH rate of the produced Alum today will be 3.5, what is optimum. Now it’s time to go for Commercial production. But it requires working capital to keep factories running, which Annan currently does not have. However, necessary steps have already been taken in this regard. Annan’s current capacity of production is 20 M. tone of alum per day. However, this capacity can be increased in the near future.

Another possibility in Annan is that the foundation work for a sulfuric acid plant inside the factory is nearing completion. Sulfuric acid is one of the main raw materials for alum production. If it is possible to use sulfuric acid in the production of alum by Anan himself, the production cost of alum will be reduced. As a result, it will be possible to supply alum at an affordable price. Anan can play an important role in industrial development in the country along with creating employment opportunities.

All in all, Annan is a very viable and profitable company. The products of this company are developed to fulfill the needs of the people of this country. World Health Organization (WHO) has identified alum as a cheap, effective and suitable medicine for Bangladesh. Alum has been widely used as an antiseptic since ancient times. This factory is a valuable asset of the country. It is necessary for the national interest to continue the normal production system of this factory. The Board of Directors seeks the cooperation of all concerned to keep the factory functioning at Annan’s present juncture and play a proper role in the national economy.