Sitakunda declared spl ship breaking zone

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Monira Munni The country's potential ship breaking industry will get a big boost as the government has finally declared Sitakunda as a special ship breaking zone considering better environmental and safety standards amid protest from the environmentalists. The Ministry of Industries (MoI) issued a gazette notification on October 20 announcing seven mowzas under Sitakunda Upazila as the zone for environment-friendly ship breaking industry, officials said. The seven mowzas are North Chalimpur, Bhatiari, Jahanabad, Sheetalpur, North, South and Moddho Sonaichori in Sitakunda. No yard can be built at Tulatuli, South Chalimpur, Char Bashbaria and Boalia or other coastal belts without permission of the MoI, the notification said. "We have taken the initiative so that no yard can be built in a scattered way," Industries Minister Dilip Barua told the FE. The sector will come under one common platform and permanent infrastructure will be developed, he said adding "Ship breaking will be done in an environment-friendly way and also there will be expansion of the industry." Meanwhile Chief Executive of Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers' Association (BELA) Syeda Rizwana Hasan said the MoI has done this using its power. "No shipyard can be built in the coastal area as the High Court has declared it illegal," she said adding ship breaking could be done in dry docks. Md Ali Shaheen, programme manager of Young Power in Social Action (YPSA), said our main concern is to ensure that the ships are waste-free and are certified by the exporting countries. He called upon the government to take a five-year plan for the dry docking system, explaining "Our concern is also to take away the ship yard from the coastal area." Captain Salahuddin, Technical Adviser of Bangladesh Ship Breakers Association (BSBA), hailed the government initiative saying that it will help the sector to grow. "It will remove the uncertainty of renewal of leasing land. No other industry can now emerge in the area," he said adding environmental pollution -- the major concern of the environmentalists -- will be less as it will be done in a specific area. It will also get some facilities like incentives if the government takes plan to export the products, he explained adding 84 yards are now in operation with environment certificate. The rest, which are yet to get environment clearance, will be encouraged to do business, he added. "But 126 yards are not enough to meet the local demand of steel," Mr Salahuddin said, adding the ship breaking industry is the country's main source of iron and steel. Private re-rolling mills and steel mills melt the scraps dismantled from ships to produce mild steel rods, bars and angles. "A dry dock needs investment worth billions of taka. It needs thousands of experts, technicians and engineers which we don't have. Besides, dry docks need massive maintenance cost," he said adding that dry docking is impossible considering the country's perspective. Six to seven metres high tide along the Sitakunda coast helps beach the large vessels straight to the shipyards. In India, the ship breakers have to beach the vessels nearly a mile off the shore, he said. High tide and shape of the beach are the major advantages we enjoy over other ship breaking nations, the BSBA leader said.