Four ship-makers to join world's top ship-building fair
Sunday, 21 September 2008
FHM Humayan Kabir
Four local ship-makers will participate in the world's biggest shipbuilding fair in Hamburg for the first time ever to showcase emergence of Bangladesh as a new global manufacturing hub for small vessels, officials said Saturday.
The Shipbuilding, Machinery and Marine Technology International Fair will be held from September 23 to 26 in the German city, with the world's top ship-builders, engine makers and shipping companies taking part in the biannual fair.
"We've booked a stall in the fair. We will have a chance to meet top shipping companies and highlight our potentials and capacity," said Tofayel Kabir Khan of Khan Brothers Shipbuilding Limited, a new shipbuilding entrepreneur, told the FE.
"Our target is to win some new orders in the fair," he added.
The Khan Brothers has built a new dry-dock and slipways on a fifty-acre of land on the bank of the river Meghna at Munshiganj. It has invested over Tk500 million in its new facility.
Mr. Khan said in the past few weeks his company has been negotiating with a couple of international ship companies, which are interested to place some orders to Bangladesh.
The country's pioneer shipbuilder Ananda Shipyard and Slipways Limited, Chittagong-based Western Marine and Fatullah-based Highspeed have said they would also take part in the fair.
Shipbuilding is a new but booming industry in Bangladesh. Three leading ship-makers have already grabbed orders worth $500 million.
Mr. Khan said the fair would for the first time highlight the advancement the country's new ship makers have made over the last couple of years.
"We will show to the world that we are now ready to emerge as a big shipbuilding nation. I am confident we will be able to attract the attention of top shipping companies to Bangladesh," he said
Managing director of Highspeed Shipbuilding K.M Mahmood Ur Rahman said his company would also talk with some foreign shipping companies during the fair.
"We hope to win orders to build bigger ships," Rahman said, adding his company, which already won orders worth nearly $140 millions, was now capable of building vessels weighing 15,000 dead weight tonnes (DWT).
The two other ship-makers Ananda and Western Marine have orders over about US$ 350 million from buyers from Germany, Denmark, Netherlands and Mozambique.
Four more companies such as Meghna Group of Industries, Rangs Group, state-owned Dockyard & Engineering Works Limited (DEWL) and Narayanganj Engineering & Shipbuilding have also jumped on the shipbuilding bandwagon.
The four are now upgrading their dry-dock and slipways up to the international standard to grab export orders from international shipping companies.
Mr. Tofayel Khan said with abundant cheap labour and expertise, Bangladesh could emerge as a global small shipbuilding hub as traditional shipbuilding countries such as Japan, South Korea and China are not interested to make ships weighing under 20,000 dwt.
Some 1,950 exhibitors from 55 nations are showcasing their latest technology and product developments in all areas of the maritime industry at the 23rd edition of the Hamburg shipbuilding fair.
Four local ship-makers will participate in the world's biggest shipbuilding fair in Hamburg for the first time ever to showcase emergence of Bangladesh as a new global manufacturing hub for small vessels, officials said Saturday.
The Shipbuilding, Machinery and Marine Technology International Fair will be held from September 23 to 26 in the German city, with the world's top ship-builders, engine makers and shipping companies taking part in the biannual fair.
"We've booked a stall in the fair. We will have a chance to meet top shipping companies and highlight our potentials and capacity," said Tofayel Kabir Khan of Khan Brothers Shipbuilding Limited, a new shipbuilding entrepreneur, told the FE.
"Our target is to win some new orders in the fair," he added.
The Khan Brothers has built a new dry-dock and slipways on a fifty-acre of land on the bank of the river Meghna at Munshiganj. It has invested over Tk500 million in its new facility.
Mr. Khan said in the past few weeks his company has been negotiating with a couple of international ship companies, which are interested to place some orders to Bangladesh.
The country's pioneer shipbuilder Ananda Shipyard and Slipways Limited, Chittagong-based Western Marine and Fatullah-based Highspeed have said they would also take part in the fair.
Shipbuilding is a new but booming industry in Bangladesh. Three leading ship-makers have already grabbed orders worth $500 million.
Mr. Khan said the fair would for the first time highlight the advancement the country's new ship makers have made over the last couple of years.
"We will show to the world that we are now ready to emerge as a big shipbuilding nation. I am confident we will be able to attract the attention of top shipping companies to Bangladesh," he said
Managing director of Highspeed Shipbuilding K.M Mahmood Ur Rahman said his company would also talk with some foreign shipping companies during the fair.
"We hope to win orders to build bigger ships," Rahman said, adding his company, which already won orders worth nearly $140 millions, was now capable of building vessels weighing 15,000 dead weight tonnes (DWT).
The two other ship-makers Ananda and Western Marine have orders over about US$ 350 million from buyers from Germany, Denmark, Netherlands and Mozambique.
Four more companies such as Meghna Group of Industries, Rangs Group, state-owned Dockyard & Engineering Works Limited (DEWL) and Narayanganj Engineering & Shipbuilding have also jumped on the shipbuilding bandwagon.
The four are now upgrading their dry-dock and slipways up to the international standard to grab export orders from international shipping companies.
Mr. Tofayel Khan said with abundant cheap labour and expertise, Bangladesh could emerge as a global small shipbuilding hub as traditional shipbuilding countries such as Japan, South Korea and China are not interested to make ships weighing under 20,000 dwt.
Some 1,950 exhibitors from 55 nations are showcasing their latest technology and product developments in all areas of the maritime industry at the 23rd edition of the Hamburg shipbuilding fair.