BD shipbuilders expect more orders from Tanzania

CHITTAGONG, Feb 3: Regional Commissioner of Dar Es Salaam Saidi Meck Sadick today spoke highly of the quality of shipbuilding in Bangladesh and said this industry can expect many more shipbuilding orders from Tanzania.
He admired the working condition at Western Marine Shipyard (WMS) and the way the shipyard is contributing to the development of Bangladesh's economy while speaking as the special guest at the reception ceremony at the shipyard on the bank of River Karnaphuli at Patiya of Chittagong.
A delegation from Tanzania headed by Mr Sadick made a goodwill visit to one of the country's leading shipbuilders, Western Marine Shipyard, Monday morning. Other members of delegation were high officials from Tanzania Electrical, Mechanical and Services Agency (TEMESA), a corporation under the Ministry of Works of Tanzania.
Western Marine is building a ship for its Danish buyer JGH Marine which will be owned by the Government of Tanzania. It is an aluminum-bodied 300-capacity passenger ship which will be operated by TEMESA. Management of the WMS expressed hope that the relation between Bangladesh and Tanzania will get stronger and this visit by the Tanzanian delegation will benefit both the nations through bilateral trade.
Mayor of Chittagong City Corporation M Monjur Alam addressed it as the chief guest while Daily Azadi editor MA Malek, Daily Purbokone managing editor Jashim Uddin Chowdhury and chairman and managing director of the Western Marine Shipyard Saiful Islam and Engineer Sakhawat Hossain respectively addressed the function.
The city mayor said Chittagong, as a port city of the country, has been globally known from centuries as a major hub for trade in the market of Asia. A lot of sectors have developed in the city and we are proud of the shipbuilding led by the WMS.
 "We got our prominence in this sector within a very short time by exporting ships to the European and Asian markets, and this time onward we will be exporting ships to Africa as well," the mayor said.
WMS chairman Saiful Islam said, "Africa is a very big market for the Bangladesh shipbuilding industry and through patronisation of the Bangladesh government we should explore the market further which will be beneficial for our bilateral trade."
"The global shipbuilding business was at recession but now the market is once again emerging. Western Marine signed contracts with Tanzania and New Zealand last year and the WMS is expecting to secure more orders from the African market in 2014," said WMS MD Sakhawat Hossain. The industry is looking forward to seeing its golden days once again, he added.
Dr Willian Nshama, director of Technical Services, Ministry of Works of Tanzania, Engineer Japhet Y Maselle, director, Ferry Services, TEMESA, and Michael Schultz from JGH Marine, Denmark, among others, were present.