Demand for CI sheet rising in Dhaka and other cities

The market for corrugated iron (CI) sheets is expanding in Bangladesh thanks to the availability of more durable and coloured versions of the product, according to industry insiders.

For example, the availability of coloured CI sheets that are galvanised with a protective coating is driving up demand for its use as roofing and cladding the sides of households, factories and other structures.

As such, the country's annual demand for CI sheets now exceeds 1.2 million tonnes, creating a market worth around Tk 15,000 crore.

However, just five companies currently manufacture CI sheets, and all of them are based in Chattogram.

The manufacturers are: PHP Family, KDS Group, S Alam Group, Abul Khair Group and TK Group.

Industry people say that Abul Khair and PHP together hold a majority 75 percent share of the market while KDS has a roughly 15 percent stake, and TK Group and S Alam have 5 percent each.

"The once only produced simple corrugated iron but now, people are getting multi-dimensional products," said Mohammad Amir Hossain, director of PHP Family.

"We now manufacture CI sheets with galvalume, a coating consisting of zinc, aluminium and silicon, which protects the metal from oxidisation at a reasonable cost," he added.

Hossain also said they make coloured CI sheets for use as housing and factory roofing profiles.

At present, PHP produces some 4.5 lakh tonnes of CI sheets each year, catering to about 45 percent of the total market.

Asked why there are so few CI sheet manufacturers in the country, Hossain said it is a very costly venture that requires at least Tk 12,000 crore to set up.

Tariq Ahmed, director of operations and marketing at TK Group, said the use of CI sheets is increasing in line with the peoples' growing purchasing power.

"CI sheets were once only used as roofing in rural areas but now, the demand is reaching cities too for various reasons," he added, citing how huge demand is being created for industrial construction.

As a result, investment in the sector as well as the diversified products available are increasing.

However, Ahmed said the market is enduring a dull point amid the ongoing economic situation.

Anwar Hossain, promoter of M/s Lal Mohammad & Sons on Bangshal road in Dhaka, said imported CI sheets are available in the market as some people want higher-quality products.

Imported CI sheets mainly come from Japan, Vietnam, Taiwan, China and South Korea but shipments are gradually reducing as local producers are developing their product basket with cheaper alternatives.

HOW CHATTOGRAM BECAME A HUB FOR CI SHEET INDUSTRY

The steel industry in Bangladesh began when the state-owned Chittagong Steel Mills opened in 1967.

The factory, which made steel billets, iron sheets and corrugated iron, was unable to cater to the country's overall demand by itself and so, much of the market was occupied by imports at the time.

Imports finally started to decrease in the mid-80s, when the private sector joined in on producing CI sheets from intermediate raw materials.

In the 1990s, entrepreneurs took the initiative to set up large factories as the demand for steel grew.

And from 1998, the work of setting up factories for manufacturing raw materials such as cold rolled coils of CI sheet started in Chattogram.

Then, five Chattogram-based industrial groups, namely Abul Khair, PHP, TK, KDS and S Alam, set up large factories in this sector between 1998 and 2004.