Bangladesh Mulls Investments in Shipbuilding
If the Bangladesh government shows more vision and ambition in helping remove constraints on local shipbuilders, investments will pour in, say industry observers.
The EU Ambassador in Dhaka has said that the European Union is looking to invest in the Bangladeshi shipbuilding industry. German shipping companies have also expressed interest in buying more vessels from Bangladeshi shipyards.
A report in Dhaka Tribune said that Bangladeshi entrepreneurs have invested in improving facilities and developing skills to enhance the nation’s capacity to build modern ships. The country needs such emerging manufacturing sectors to grow in order to help diversify and expand the economy.
The government must make more use of the levers it has available to encourage the nation’s shipbuilding industry. Supporting efforts to grow the land and anchorage area available for shipyards needs to part of this to help the sector make the most of its potential, the newspaper said.
Bangladesh is a land of rivers and thousands of locally- built ships ply its inland waters. At present, Bangladesh is looking for the market for small ocean-faring vessels less than 25,000 DWT.
The global market for the small ocean-faring vessels is now estimated to be $ 400 billion annually although some estimates place this figure at only $200 billion. Major shipyards of the world can meet75% of the total demand. If Bangladesh could achieve 4% market share of the surplus demand, which is $100 billion (25% of $ 400 billion), it could earn $4 billion annually.
Bangladesh has now over 200 shipbuilding companies, mostly concentrated in Dhaka, Chittagong, Narayanganj, Barisal and Khulna.
