Concrete block making

What the business is

Mixing cement, sand and stone chips, pressing the mix into moulds, curing the blocks with water for a few days and selling them. Unlike fired brick it needs no topsoil, no coal and no kiln chimney - an open yard, a machine and water will do. The decisive fact about this trade is not a market fact but a government order. On 24 November 2019 the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change issued a notification requiring public construction to move to blocks in stages: 10 percent in FY2019-20, 30 percent in FY2021-22, 60 percent in FY2022-23 and 100 percent in FY2024-25. That final deadline passed in June 2025 and was missed. As of January 2026 only the Ministry of Housing and Public Works had complied fully, and roughly 30-40 percent of government works overall had moved to alternatives, while about 7,000 brickfields were still operating. Worse for the block maker, alternatives carry 15 percent VAT while brick kiln owners pay a flat rate on their first half-million bricks, so the rules favour blocks but the tax favours brick. On 16 August 2026 the environment minister said block use would be expanded gradually and tax relief was under review, but no new deadline has been announced. So before putting money in, the only question that matters is who in your area will actually buy the blocks - a government contractor or a private house builder - and how long he will take to pay.

Unit economics

What you need to start

• A block machine (manual, semi-automatic or automatic), a mixer, moulds in several sizes, a vibrator, a water tank and trolleys. F.K Hydraulic Engineering Works in the Shariatpur BSCIC estate priced its machines at Tk 12-22 lakh in 2022.Equipment
• Cement, sand and stone chips. On 30 April 2026 Bashundhara PCC was Tk 480-530 and OPC Tk 530-550, King Brand PCC Tk 490-530 and OPC Tk 470-510, per 50 kg bag.Starting stock
• Department of Environment clearance. The Brick Manufacturing and Brick Kiln Establishment (Control) Act 2013, as amended in 2019, brought blocks inside the definition of 'brick'. Ask the district DoE office in writing whether a unit of your size needs a separate clearance - the fee and conditions could not be verified.Licence
• Trade licence from the city corporation, municipality or union parishad: form Tk 10, licence book Tk 50, standard tax Tk 30, non-judicial stamp Tk 150-300, licence fee Tk 100-60,000 by trade type, plus VAT and signboard fee. Issued in 3-5 working days with papers ready; renewed yearly.Licence
• TIN and VAT registration (BIN) from the National Board of Revenue. Alternatives to brick, including blocks, attract 15 percent VAT (Mongabay, 2 January 2026). A VAT challan is needed to bill a contractor.Licence
• Holding the mix ratio and following the curing routine. Block strength depends on both, and a block that fails a strength test is not accepted on a government job.Skill
• A cement dealer, a sand and chips supplier, and someone for machine spares and repair. Production stops when the machine stops, so a nearby mechanic matters.Supplier
• An open yard: machine shed, raw material storage, a curing floor, a water source, three-phase power and truck access.Workspace

How the work runs

1. 1Line up buyers before building the plant. Note down what local contractors, Public Works or LGED jobs and Water Development Board embankment work will actually take. A government order does not by itself bring orders; that is the first lesson of this trade.
2. 2Take an open yard: a shed for the machine, space for sand and chips, a curing floor, and a road a truck can enter. Without truck access the blocks cannot leave.
3. 3Take the trade licence from the city corporation, municipality or union parishad, and register for TIN and VAT (BIN) with the NBR - you cannot bill a contractor without a VAT challan.
4. 4Choose the machine. Local makers exist, such as F.K Hydraulic Engineering Works in the Shariatpur BSCIC estate, whose machines cost Tk 12-22 lakh in 2022. Smaller manual machines exist too; check their price yourself.
5. 5Fix regular suppliers of cement, sand and stone chips. On 30 April 2026 a 50 kg bag of Bashundhara or King Brand cement was Tk 480-550. When cement rises your margin falls directly.
6. 6Cast the blocks to a fixed mix, then keep them in shade and water them regularly. Under-cured blocks crumble, and once a yard gets that name contractors do not come back.
7. 7Get sample blocks from each lot tested for compressive strength. Government jobs ask for test papers; without your own lab you use a local engineering college or BUET lab.
8. 8When quoting, do not compare piece for piece with brick; compare by wall area, since one block covers the space of five. If you cannot explain that to the mason and the owner, the block simply looks expensive.
9. 9Put the credit terms in writing with the contractor before delivery: how many days to payment, who the bill goes to, and what retention applies. Government bills take time to clear, and that time runs on your money.
10. 10Construction slows through the four monsoon months. Set aside wages and yard rent for that period out of the previous dry-season earnings.

Sources

• সিটি কর্পোরেশন থেকে ট্রেড লাইসেন্স প্রাপ্তির ধাপ সমূহ

  Collected: 16 Sept 2026

  Supports: Starting capital, Time to first revenue · বাংলাদেশ

What changed

No corrections have been published yet.

Questions and answers

No questions yet. Be the first to ask.