Govt patronisation may help local co build, export sea-going vessels
Thursday, 27 December 2007
Fakhrul Alam
CHITTAGONG, Dec 26 : Karnaphuli Ship Builders Limited (KSBL) during its long seven years' efforts, has successfully proved that it is quite capable of building ultramodern sea-going vessels.
If proper patronisation of the government and the concerned agencies are extended to the KSBL, Bangladesh may emerge as an ideal place of vessels for international buyers at cheap rates and KSBL may also attain a status of building even war ships and earn huge quantities of foreign exchange worth billions of taka on this head.
According to KSBL sources, through building high-power tugs 'Kandary-1' and 'Kandary-7' for Chittagong port, and other sea-going vessels it has already proved its capability of building any kind of vessels of international standard.
Bangladesh Shipping Corporation (BSC)-owned vessel Banglar Shourabh which was once damaged due to a devastating fire last year, is expected to sail on the sea again within a month after necessary repair and reform works. But the vessel was once declared a scrap. KSBL following its relentless efforts was able to turn the said vessel into a full- fledged sea-going vessel worth Tk 2.00 billion.
Talking to this correspondent, KSBL Managing Director MA Rashid termed the ship building sector of Bangladesh a booming sector of the country. If necessary infrastructures of a few shipyards are built up upto the desired level then the earnings from this sector would make one year's budget allocation, he said.
It has rather become difficult for this sector to make payment of taxes upto 40 per cent on import of raw materials which include plate engine and other equipment, he added.
He said, with the enhanced the volume of import and export trade in the world the rates of freight transporting of goods have also increased remarkably. At the same time, vessels are also being damaged due to excess use as well as old age. This has automatically created a tremendous demand of the sea going vessels globally, he said further.
He said, a skilled worker is to be paid Tk.0.3 million in Japan for making vessels, while in Bangladesh Tk.10 thousand only is spent for the similar work. As such, huge amounts of money are saved in building a vessel in Bangladesh. It needs only government patronisation including adequate land, easy loan facilities and reduction of duty in importing raw materials.
KSBL, during its last few years' efforts, has been able to build and repair as many as 400 marine vessels like tug,fishing trawlers, sea truck, oil tankers water barges, mooring boats and other sea-going vessels and thus saved huge amounts of valuable foreign exchange worth billions of dollar, he claimed.
CHITTAGONG, Dec 26 : Karnaphuli Ship Builders Limited (KSBL) during its long seven years' efforts, has successfully proved that it is quite capable of building ultramodern sea-going vessels.
If proper patronisation of the government and the concerned agencies are extended to the KSBL, Bangladesh may emerge as an ideal place of vessels for international buyers at cheap rates and KSBL may also attain a status of building even war ships and earn huge quantities of foreign exchange worth billions of taka on this head.
According to KSBL sources, through building high-power tugs 'Kandary-1' and 'Kandary-7' for Chittagong port, and other sea-going vessels it has already proved its capability of building any kind of vessels of international standard.
Bangladesh Shipping Corporation (BSC)-owned vessel Banglar Shourabh which was once damaged due to a devastating fire last year, is expected to sail on the sea again within a month after necessary repair and reform works. But the vessel was once declared a scrap. KSBL following its relentless efforts was able to turn the said vessel into a full- fledged sea-going vessel worth Tk 2.00 billion.
Talking to this correspondent, KSBL Managing Director MA Rashid termed the ship building sector of Bangladesh a booming sector of the country. If necessary infrastructures of a few shipyards are built up upto the desired level then the earnings from this sector would make one year's budget allocation, he said.
It has rather become difficult for this sector to make payment of taxes upto 40 per cent on import of raw materials which include plate engine and other equipment, he added.
He said, with the enhanced the volume of import and export trade in the world the rates of freight transporting of goods have also increased remarkably. At the same time, vessels are also being damaged due to excess use as well as old age. This has automatically created a tremendous demand of the sea going vessels globally, he said further.
He said, a skilled worker is to be paid Tk.0.3 million in Japan for making vessels, while in Bangladesh Tk.10 thousand only is spent for the similar work. As such, huge amounts of money are saved in building a vessel in Bangladesh. It needs only government patronisation including adequate land, easy loan facilities and reduction of duty in importing raw materials.
KSBL, during its last few years' efforts, has been able to build and repair as many as 400 marine vessels like tug,fishing trawlers, sea truck, oil tankers water barges, mooring boats and other sea-going vessels and thus saved huge amounts of valuable foreign exchange worth billions of dollar, he claimed.