EDII rejoinder, our reply
The Engineering Dimension International Investment (EDII) has sent a rejoinder to the news titled "Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corporation seeks to pull out of joint venture with Saudi" ran by The Business Standard on 2 January 2023, noting it "damaged their reputation due to incorrect information fed by some vested quarters".
In the rejoinder, the Engineering Dimension has said the news was prepared mainly based on the statements by Shah Md Imdadul Haque, the immediate past chairman of the Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corporation (BCIC).
It says the headline of the news was not correct as the EDII – the Saudi shareholder of the joint venture company Saudi Bangla Integrated Cement Company Ltd – offered the BCIC a pullout first in July 2022 after a frustrating experience with the former BCIC chairman.
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According to the EDII, the TBS report failed to bring out facts of investments and made a sweeping generalisation about financial irregularities or anomalies without providing any specific incidents.
About Dipon Group's link to the joint venture, the EDII says the BCIC, the Ministry of Industries and the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (Bida) were well aware of the involvement of the local firm as a logistic partner.
The EDII has expressed surprise at the statement by Shah Md Imdadul Haque about the joint venture's spending, management and transparency. The Saudi-based investor said it is strange that Imdadul Haque was pointing those out just before leaving office though he was the chairman of the joint venture board that made all the decisions.
About the second feasibility study and subsequent project cost escalation, the EDII notes the cost of the project was originally supposed to be $353 million in 2018. But due to changes in plans and increased materials and labour costs, it later went up.
The EDII says the in-charge of the joint venture must have permission prior to speaking to the media. Therefore, he told TBS "no comment" and this should not be interpreted as acceptance of any of the false information mentioned in the report.
"We reiterate that EDII is committed to invest only in a clean and transparent business prospect with zero tolerance on any bad business practices," notes the rejoinder signed by Engineering Dimension Chairman Mohammad Najeeb M Hejji.
Our reply
We prepared the report based on the correspondence between the BCIC and the industries ministry. Prior to that, we reached out to the parties concerned to verify the facts as per journalism ethics and standards.
Besides, the report included the statements of all the parties of the joint venture. It also mentioned measures by the Ministry of Industries.
We do appreciate the clarification by the EDII.
