Once a losing concern, CDDL now profitable

CHATTOGRAM, Dec 18: Once a losing concern, Chittagong Dry Dock Limited (CDDL), the lone state-owned dry dock of the country, is a profitable organisation now.
After its management was handed over to the Bangladesh Navy (BN) five years ago, the organisation, which has two jetties, gradually started to increase its earnings and now it is making profit due to sincere efforts given by its officials, engineers and staff backed by an all-out cooperation extended by an improved management by the Navy, said sources.
Constructed in 1963 on 54 acres of land, the CDDL was built to function as complementary to the Chittagong Port Authority (CPA). The dry dock was reconstructed after the country's independence in 1971 and made an organ of the Bangladesh Steel and Engineering Corporation (BSEC).
It was built to repair and provide services to small and medium ships with smaller draft at its two jetties. After reconstruction, it started to repair ships in 1985 and on December 23, 2015, the Bangladesh Navy took over the charges of its management.
Sources said, now the CDDL can repair larger ships, including 180 metres long vessels with 8.5 metres draft.
They said, the CDDL had lost its capacity of production under a weak and inept management. It had continued to incur losses for a long time due to mismanagement and lack of renovation of jetties and equipment before 2015. As the economic losses of the CDDL were mounting with  passing of many financial years and its expenditures remaining unchanged, it seemed that the dry dock would not make profit any sooner. Finally, it was permanently placed in the list of a state-owned losing concern.
In fiscal year 2014-15, the CDDL could earn only Tk 6.3 million (Tk 63 lakh). But, after the transfer of its management to the Navy, a light appeared at the end of the tunnel and the CDDL turned profitable in the last five years.
In fiscal year 2015-16 (FY '16), the CDDL's earnings soared and it made a profit of Tk 44.7 million (Tk 4 crore and 47 lakh). The dry dock made a profit of Tk 65.4 million (Tk 6 crore and 54 lakh) in FY '17 and Tk 79 million (Tk 7 crore and 90 lakh) in FY' 18.
In FY '19, its profit skyrocketed to Tk 564.8 million (Tk 56 crore and 48 lakh) while the profit increased to 780 million (Tk 78 crore) in the last fiscal year (FY '20), to earn the title of a profit-making organisation.
With handsome profits under its belt in the four consecutive years, the CDDL paid Tk 460 million (Tk 46 crore) to the government as VAT and tax in FY '20.
CDDL officials told the FE that the dry dock authority had set a target to make a robust Tk 2.85 billion (Tk 285 crore) earnings in the last fiscal year while it earned more than Tk 2.95 billion (Tk 295 crore and 98 lakh).
In the last five years, the CDDL had many-fold increased its productivity by raising the draft of its jetties through dredging, installing modern machinery and equipment, and vastly improving its management.
Now, CDDL repairs large cargo vessels, including all types of engines of seagoing ships, on its own. Besides, it can now build container vessels.
The dry dock has already built two container ships for BIWTC. In the current year, the CDDL repaired a total of 26 ships till December 10, 2020.
Managing Director Commodore M Najmul Karim said, "CDDL is working with a vision. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina handed over the management of CDDL to BN on December 23, 2015, for its betterment. We are working to make the CDDL profitable and capable (achieving further improvement and doing better in all respect)."
"More than 1,500 staffs and officials of the CDDL will survive and the country will be benefited if it remains profitable," he added.
nazim07@yahoo.com