Brick Industry Info

1. The government also began to enforce the Brick Making and Kiln Establishment (Control) Act 2013
from July 2014 to control air pollution, deforestation, loss of land fertility and to protect public
health.
https://www.thedailystar.net/business/eco-friendly-brick-kilns-growing-numbers-
1383931
2. Until February 2017, 4,227 brick kilns out of the 6,646 have been converted into modern ones. Of
them, 4,108 kilns have been converted into zigzag or improved zigzag kilns and the rest into HHK
and tunnel kilns, according to the DoE. Some 2,541 FCKs are yet to be converted into modern
kilns, according to data from the DoE.
https://www.thedailystar.net/business/eco-friendly-brick-kilns-growing-numbers-
1383931
3. Bangladesh produces 1,720 crore pieces of bricks annually, according to a 2011 World Bank
report. The Washington-based multilateral lender, in the report, forecasted that the demand will
rise 2-3 percent per year for the next ten years. Modern brick kilns accounted for nearly 170 crore
pieces, according to BN Dulal, secretary general of Bangladesh Auto Brick Manufacturers
Association.
https://www.thedailystar.net/business/eco-friendly-brick-kilns-growing-numbers-
1383931
4. The demand for bricks made by modern kilns is rising, particularly from those who are
building green structures, said Rabiul Ahsan, managing director of Stone Bricks Ltd, which
has the capacity to produce 3 lakh pieces of bricks daily.

“We had to do lots of marketing to educate people about the bricks from automated
kilns,” he added.

The pace of investment in modern and automatic tunnel kilns increased in recent years
due to the extension of low-cost loans by banks and financial institutions, he said.
5. In September 2012, the Bangladesh Bank introduced a refinance loan scheme worth $50 million
to encourage environment-friendly and automatic brick kilns in the country. The Asian
Development Bank provided the fund.
6. As a government-focused initiative, Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF) issued a
directive on July 2012, announcing deferral of renewal of licenses of Fixed Chimney kilns
(FCKs) after September 2013 eying on promoting energy-efficient brick kilns in
Bangladesh. In 2013 the Brick Manufacturing and Brick Kilns Establishment (Control) Act
has was passed to have power over brick manufacturing and brick kiln establishment for
the interest of preservation and development of environment and biodiversity.

This Act came into force from 1st July 2014, and permits two years' time limit to convert
the brick kilns into modern technology and reposition thereof demonstrating regulatory
ban on FCK from 1st July, 2016. In this situation, it has become crucial to aid the
 conversion of environment friendly and energy efficient brick manufacturing industry in
Bangladesh.
7. It is estimated that about 27% of the brick demand is met by these unauthorized manual
brickfield. This conclusion is also apparent from the fact that demand for bricks has been
growing steadily at about 8% each year.
8. Brick production is a very fundamental and momentous economic doings in Bangladesh
since it is a developing country with high construction sector growth. The brick-
manufacturing sector of Bangladesh contributes about 1% of gross domestic product and
generates employment for about 750,000 people.
https://dailyasianage.com/news/95126/auto-bricks-industry-green-bangladesh
9. Bangladesh annually consumes 500-600 crore pieces of bricks and auto brick makers
supply nearly one-third of the demand.
https://www.thedailystar.net/business/demand-building-materials-the-rise-1220233
10. brick kilns - both in their structure and their operations - are second only to unplanned
rural housing as the main reason behind the loss of agricultural land in the country today,
said to be declining at a rate of 1 percent every year. Terming the enactment of Brick
Manufacturing and Brick Kilns Establishment (Control) Act, 2013 a �green wash�,
Rizwana said, �No specific direction is included in the Act which is not an environment-
friendly approach. The time has come to reconsider the issue considering its present and
future demands.� Director of Housing and Building Research Institute (HBRI)
Mohammad Abu Sadeque said Bangladesh is not in a position to afford fire clay bricks
anymore. It is not friendly to the environment or agriculture, nor is it resilient and
affordable. �Bangladesh produces more or less 25 billion bricks per year using about 65
million tons of top soil which is equivalent to 3800 hectares of farmland. These brick kilns
are using about 5 million tonnes of coal and 3 million tonnes of wood as fuel for burning
the bricks resulting more or less 15 million tonnes of carbon emission,� Sadeque added.
�Every year we lose about one percent farmland, and 80% of this loss is brought by
unplanned rural housing while 17% by brick manufacturing. What will happen in the near
future when our projected population will be 240 million in 2041, if we continue losing
land at this rate?�
https://newstoday.com.bd/index.php?option=details&news_id=2473416&date=2017-
06-08
11. Bangladesh Bank on Tuesday relaxed the loan policy for its refinance fund dedicated to
set up environment friendly and automatic brick kilns in the country.
12. To this end, the BB issued a circular to managing directors and chief executive officers of
all scheduled banks saying that from now on the businesspeople, who would receive loans
from the refinance fund, would be able to repay their loan by seven years instead of five
years.
13. The BB introduced the refinance scheme worth $50 million with financial assistance from
the Asian Development Bank in September 2012 to set up environment friendly and
automatic brick kilns.
14. The BB circular said that the businesspeople would get 18 months of grace period to repay
the loan instead of six months.
15. The central bank earlier said that the businessmen, who gathered three years of
experience in the respective field, were considered to receive the loan from the refinance
fund, but the latest BB directive dropped the condition of the experience.
16. The banks and non-bank financial institutions can borrow from central bank under the
scheme at an interest rate of only 5 per cent.
17. The banks and the NBFIs will charge reasonable rates of interest while lending to their
clients under the scheme, according to the BB directives.
18. In line with the guidelines of the BB, a commercial bank or an NBFI finance such projects
with 50 per cent of the funds from the refinance scheme and 20 per cent from their own
fund, while the remaining 30 per cent has to be invested by the entrepreneurs concerned.
19. Under the refinance fund, $30 million will be disbursed to convert the existing fixed
chimney kilns into the improved Zigzag kilns, while the remaining $20 million will be for
new vertical shaft brick kilns, hybrid hoffman kilns and tunnel kilns.
http://archive.newagebd.net/17482/bb-relaxes-loan-policy-for-brick-kiln-refinance-
fund/