The leading shipbuilder of the country, Western Marine Shipyard (WMS), has announced that the company has made a deal with the Indian business conglomerate Jindal Group for building ten (10) cargo ships. The company has made the announcement today at a press conference at a city hotel.
Industry Minister Mr. Amir Hussain Amu was present at the Press Conference as the Chief Guest while the Deputy High Commissioner of India Mr. Sandeep Chakravorty & Chairman of Bank Asia Limited Mr. A Rouf Chowdhury were Special Guests. Members of Western Marine’s Board of Director were present in the conference including the Chairman Mr. Saiful Islam & Managing Director Mr. Sakhawat Hossain.
Western Marine signed agreement with Jindal Steel Works Limited on the 5th of March 2015 in Mumbai, India for building 10 units of Mini Bulk Carrier (MBC). The WMS will be building 6 units of these ships in the first phase in a row of two which are to be delivered in next 18 months and the rest 4 units will be built in the second phase after successful completion of the first phase. These ships will be built for about BDT 4.8 Billion (USD 61.25 million) which could be considered one of the highest worth contract that Bangladesh has signed with India so far. Bank Asia Ltd is the financial partner to Western Marine for construction of first 2 ships of the series.
The ships will carry iron-ore and coal to the Steel Factory & Power Plant of Jindal in Joigarh and they will also carry out finished product-Steel Coils. The ships will be built under the class Indian Register of Shipping (IRS) having the compliance “RSV-4” which is the highest compliance for inland & coastal ships in India as per Indian Department of Shipping.
The Industry Minister Mr. Amir Hussain Amu said that Bangladesh & India has always shared a very strong relation and the government of India has supported us since our Independence. He also mentioned that the Awami League Government under the Leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is always eager to enhance bilateral trade between the two countries and this shipbuilding project between Western Marine & Jindal has highly contributed to this cause.
The Deputy High Commissioner of India in Bangladesh stated that the Indian Government is very much ambitious on Bangladesh-India friendship and this new building project between Western Marine & Jiandal has given a new dimension to it. He also congratulated Western Marine for achieving this order from India and he hoped that India and Bangladesh will work together in more shipbuilding projects in the days ahead.
The shipyard Chairman Mr. Saiful Islam said that it is a pride for Bangladesh shipbuilding industry to have associated with a renowned organization like Jindal which has huge contribution in India’s Power & Steel Sector. This way definitely the two countries will come into stronger ties & we can hope to have more shipbuilding order from India. He also mentioned apart from RMG, leather and other export oriented industries in Bangladesh it is highly admirable that shipbuilding have created opportunity for export diversification which is much required in today’s date. Nevertheless to mention how this industry has added value to the economy by job opportunities, earning foreign currency & many more since its birth.
The shipyard Managing Director Mr. Sakhawat Hossain stated that the shipbuilding business is at rise once again, this order from India is a sign to that. He said that previously we only concentrated on the European Market but now the market in Asia & Asia Pacific is also growing. This is the First time Bangladesh will build ships for India. At present Western Marine is engaged in ship construction for New Zealand, Kenya Uganda, India & Bangladesh. He has also said that Jindal nominated this newbuilding contract to Western Marine after reviewing other shipyards in Japan, S. Korea, China. They have selected Western Marine for quality timely deliver & full satisfaction of customer.
