Ship building set to emerge as a multi-billion dollar export sector

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Mushir Ahmed
Shipbuilding is set to become a multi-billion dollar export industry as the country's two shipyards have made solid start to woo clients in a competitive market, a leading global expert said Sunday.
"The shipbuilding industry has made a sound beginning and is poised to see massive growth in the next five to ten years," said Volkmar Wasmansdorff, Asia-Pacific head of global ship survey agency Germanischer Lloyd.
"It is already on the track to become a multi-billion dollar industry. The ship builders, however, have to invest more in infrastructure and the government has to facilitate easy movement of money, people and equipment," he said.
Germanischer Lloyd surveys ships and certifies their standard. The firm's local office played the lead role in providing expertise to two local shipbuilders to reach international standard ands woo clients from Denmark and Germany.
With GL's support, Annanda Shipyard and Slipways Limited (ASSL) and Western Marine shipyards have won orders worth 250 million dollars. The two have to deliver the ships by 2011.
"The ASSL and the Western Marine are the flagships of the new sector. A lot will depend on how they perform in the coming years. A lot of international buyers would closely observe their performance and see whether they maintain delivery schedule," Wasmansdorff said.
Wasmansdorff said the Bangladesh government should move fast to provide infrastructural and policy support to the newly emerged sector, as at least ten other countries such as India have been vying for orders from shipping companies.
"If they move fast, you have to do the same. It's a huge sector and if the sector can perform well, there will be billions of dollars of new orders. It's a matter of showing your skill and strictly maintaining quality and delivery schedule," he said.
"All the supporting sectors like furniture, fitting would also be greatly benefited by the shipbuilding industry. The sector alone can pull the country out of poverty," he said.
He made the comments as the ASSL Monday marked the emergence of Bangladesh as the latest ship exporter at an elaborate ceremony in the capital.
Commerce adviser Hossain Zillur Rahman said the shipbuilding industry could be the next garment sector in the country, providing hundreds of thousands of high-paid jobs and earning billions of dollars.
"It is a huge potential staring at us. It could be as big as ready-made garments," Zillur said.
The commerce adviser said the government would put the sector the top of its priority list and is fully committed to supporting its growth, so that it can compete in the global market.
"Ship building will be at the top of the government's thrust sectors. We will take first track approach to provide policy support and it will be given different order of policy attention," he said.
The government's focus came after the record-making feats by ASSL and Western Marine, who have successfully wooed export orders, despite immense competition from some of the Asian countries.
Experts said the country has become a new destination for companies seeking construction of small ocean-going vessels as traditional shipbuilding nations such as South Korea and China now focus on building large ships.
Even Vietnam, which is relatively new in shipbuilding, is no longer interested to build small ships weighing 4000-25,000 tonnes, they said.