Bangladesh Seeks Turkish Expertise to Modernise Leather Sector

Minister of Commerce and Industry Khandaker Abdul Muktadir visited significant landmarks in Istanbul.

Bangladesh is looking to draw on Turkey's experience in waste-to-energy production and leather industry modernisation as part of efforts to improve industrial infrastructure and environmental management.

To explore opportunities for technological cooperation, training, technology transfer and investment partnerships, Commerce and Industry Minister Khandaker Abdul Muktadir visited several major industrial facilities in Istanbul on Wednesday and Thursday.

The Ministry of Commerce shared details of the visits in a press release on Friday.

On November 4, the minister visited the waste incineration and power generation facility operated by the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality. Senior officials explained the different stages of processing household waste and generating electricity from it.

Through presentations and an on-site inspection, Muktadir learned about the facility's technology and operational systems.

Operated by ISTAC, the facility has the capacity to process 3,000 tonnes of waste daily and an installed power generation capacity of 85 megawatts.

Similar technology could offer opportunities to improve waste management in Bangladeshi cities and reduce pressure on landfills. However, its adoption would require assessments of local conditions, economic viability and environmental requirements.

On the same day, Muktadir visited the Istanbul Leather Organised Industrial Zone (IDOSB) in Tuzla.

The zone's board chairman, Celal Kopuz, representatives of the industrial zone and two officials from Turkey's Ministry of Industry and Technology briefed him on its operations and economic contributions.

They highlighted the development of planned industrial zones, shared infrastructure and the role of centralised wastewater treatment facilities in leather production.

These practices could offer useful lessons for modernising Bangladesh's leather industrial zones, improving environmental compliance and increasing production efficiency.

The minister later visited the factory of Cevahir Leather Industry and Trade Company Limited, where he observed the different stages of turning raw hides into finished leather.

He also learned about leather processing, tanning and finishing technologies, as well as the production of leather suitable for footwear and other products.

On November 5, the minister visited the Energoram Thermal Disposal Facility in Sile.

The facility treats hazardous industrial waste through thermal processing and generates electricity. It is operated by Energoram under a build-operate-transfer (BOT) arrangement as part of ISTAC's integrated waste management framework.

The facility has an annual industrial waste treatment capacity of 33,000 tonnes and an installed electricity generation capacity of 5.6 megawatts.

The visits highlighted potential areas of cooperation between Bangladeshi and Turkish institutions in urban development, environmental management and industrial modernisation.

The adoption of appropriate waste treatment and energy recovery technologies could improve industrial waste management while making a supplementary contribution to Bangladesh's electricity supply.

In the leather sector, Turkey's experience could help strengthen centralised wastewater treatment systems, improve production processes and increase value addition.

Cooperation in training, technology transfer and investment could also create opportunities to enhance the competitiveness of Bangladeshi industries, diversify exports and generate employment.