Bangladesh eyes Turkish expertise in waste-to-energy, leather industry

Bangladesh wants to draw on Türkiye’s experience in generating electricity from urban and industrial waste and modernising its leather industry.

As part of the effort, Commerce and Industry Minister Khandakar Abdul Muktadir visited several key facilities in Istanbul on November 4-5 to learn about their technologies, operational systems and industrial infrastructure.

The visits highlighted opportunities for technical cooperation, training, technology transfer and investment partnerships, according to a press release issued by the Ministry of Commerce on Friday.

On November 4, the minister visited the waste incineration and power generation plant of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, where senior officials explained the processes involved in treating household waste and generating electricity from it.

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

Such technology could help improve waste management in Bangladesh's cities and reduce pressure on landfills, although 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 (İDOSB) in Tuzla.

Its Chairman Celal Kopuz, representatives of the industrial zone and two officials from Turkiye's Ministry of Industry and Technology briefed him on its operations and economic contribution.

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

The experience could help Bangladesh modernise its leather industrial estates, improve compliance with environmental standards and enhance 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, Muktadir visited the Energram Thermal Disposal Facility in Şile, where hazardous industrial waste is treated through thermal processes and electricity is generated.

The facility is operated by Energram under a build-operate-transfer (BOT) arrangement within İSTAÇ's integrated waste management framework. It has an annual industrial waste treatment capacity of 33,000 tonnes and an installed power generation capacity of 5.6 megawatts.

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

Adopting suitable waste treatment and energy recovery technologies could improve industrial waste management while making a supplementary contribution to Bangladesh's electricity supply.

Similarly, Turkiye's experience could help Bangladesh strengthen centralised wastewater treatment systems in the leather sector, improve production processes and increase value addition.

Cooperation in training, technology transfer and investment could also create opportunities to enhance the competitiveness of Bangladesh's industries, diversify exports and generate employment, the ministry said.