Ctg Dry Dock goes BMRE,shipbuilding by 2014

Pankaj DastiderCHITTAGONG, Dec 30: Chittagong Dry Dock, the only ship-repairing enterprise in the public sector, is likely to start building ships before second quarter of 2014 after the completion of BMRE and creation of additional facilities for building medium and small ships for export under joint venture. Feasibility study for the project is being carried out by a consulting firm, and is expected to be completed by October 2012, to be followed by the process of tendering and offering contract for the project. Official sources said the renowned consulting firm IIFC under Ministry of Finance has been assigned the task of carrying out the feasibility study. Members of the firm have visited the project site of Chittagong Dry Dock Ltd to make an estimate of the existing facilities, concerned sources said. From its trial operation in 1981 and commercial operation in June 1985 the CDDL has been operating mainly as a repair yard for ocean-going ships up to 20,000 DWT (dead weight tonnage) but had been incurring losses until 2001. It started to gain a little profit after the introduction of sub-contracting system in a larger way and until now that trend has been maintained. The CDDL is established on an area of 35 acres of land at Patenga in the city on the Chittagong Shah Amanat International Airport Road and currently it has a workforce of 360 employees and officials. However, there is still an accumulated loss of Tk 220 million. Authorities are afraid that it will be difficult to run the only state-owned ship repair dock further as a profit-making enterprise at the rate of current achievement unless a major BMRE is done to replace the old and obsolete machinery and equipments. Managing Director of the CDDL Engineer Enamul Baqui has said that the total BMRE and shipbuilding project with a foreign or local joint venture under the build, own and transfer (BOT) basis will cost around Tk 3.0 billion. He told the FE today that the ship-repair business of ocean-going vessels is a very profitable one, and considering the number of ships that calls on the Chittagong and Mongla ports it is possible to earn a lot. "For the last couple of years there has been an increase in demand for new ship building. Shipyards of China, Vietnam, India, Korea and Singapore are booked with orders up to 2014. Taking this opportunity, Bangladeshi private shipyards capable of building new ships up to 6000 DWT, bagged huge orders. Some more new private shipyards are being built on the banks of the river Meghna and in Chittagong with capacity up to 10,000 DWT," he said. He said that foreign investment companies are frequently visiting Bangladesh and showing keen interest in shipbuilding. Dockyard and Engineering Works at Narayangonj and Khulna Shipyard Ltd - the two shipyards of Bangladesh Steel and Engineering Corporation (BSEC) - have been handed over to Bangladesh Navy, which has decided to go for joint venture with foreign or private shipbuilders for improvement in operation, management and business, he said adding that the CDDL may invite expression of interest (EoI) for creating new shipbuilding facilities on the CDDL area. The CDDL will offer only the available land and all other investments to be made by the foreign joint venture partner and managed by the agreed JV Management Board under the banner of a separate company, he suggested.