BGMEA asks for three years from Supreme Court to move office

Prominent trade association BGMEA has sought three years from the Supreme Court to shift their office from its current location after all the legal procedures exhausted.

Their plea comes following the apex court's refusal to review the order to demolish the 16-storey building which houses the BGMEA head office in Dhaka's Hatirjheel Project area.

BGMEA asked for the time in an application submitted to the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court on Wednesday, said their counsel Barrister Imtiaz Moinul Islam.

"We carry out some significant activities in the garment export-import process. We need three years to shift our office," he told bdnews24.com.

The Appellate Division, on Mar 5, ordered BGMEA to let know the court how much time they needed for shifting and demolishing.

"First we need the time for shifting. Demolition work will follow," Imtiaz replied to query of reporters on Wednesday.

In the past, the High Court termed the 20-year-old building "a cancer cell" developed on the Hatirjheel project and declared it as "illegal".

On Jun 2, 2016, BGMEA, the representatives of readymade garment exporters, filed a leave-to-appeal against the order which the Appellate Division rejected.

BGMEA then pleaded for reviewing the order, but a three-member bench led by Chief Justice SK Sinha turned down their plea on Mar 5.

The government is now considering allocating land to BGMEA at Uttara, Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed told at a press briefing on Monday.