The New Nation - Internet Edition

Commodore R U Ahmed, ndu, afwc, psc

Human needs are ever changing. Fulfilment of a demand leads to the requirement of a new need. These needs travel beyond the borders in the present-day perspective. Global attempts are being observed to meet these needs and demands. Local and global market take their new shapes depending on the changing needs and demands of the human society. A country lags behind in the field of trade and commerce, if it fails to cope up with the changed business environment. It ultimately, creates a severe impediment on the economic development of a country.

The developed countries of the world are successfully keeping pace with the rapid changing world. As such, they have full control over the world trade and commerce which ultimately contributes to the sustainable development in their countries. Unfortunately, the developing countries as well as the underdeveloped countries generally failed to keep pace with the new changes. So, the economic development in those countries is hampered time and again. But the countries or nations which could match themselves with the changing demands proved their worth in the field of trade and commerce. Malaysia, Korea, China etc. are the best examples of such success.

Bangladesh is a developing country. Each and every citizen of this country expects the overall development of the country. But in most of the cases it is not materialised in reality. Previously, we failed several times to take the advantages and lucrative opportunities of modern trade and commerce. For this reason, our overall economic development has undoubtedly been interrupted time and again. In this connection, I would like to cite the examples of the failure to connect up submarine cable at the first opportunity and our delayed response to the IT business. I do not like to blame anybody for this failure. But I would like to request the concerned authorities to be careful and vigilant to prevent the repetition of such failures.

New ship construction and repair of ships & crafts are considered to be a potential business in the present global market. It is also expected that this sector will continue to be a profitable business for the next few years. In the meantime, the well-known and well established countries like China, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore and even India are over-booked 'especially for large ships. Consequently, the entrepreneurs in this sector are seeking their market in Vietnam and Bangladesh for building medium- size ships. It is noticeable that some entrepreneurs of this sector are preferring Bangladesh over Vietnam for comparatively less construction cost. Though the facilities are very limited in this regard in Bangladesh, some foreign investors are expressing their interest to do business in joint venture with Bangladesh even through Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). Definitely it is a good sign and hope for us. In the meantime, Anando Shipyard and Western Marine have signed contracts for the construction of some foreign ships. Anando Shipyard and Western Marine deserve the appreciation to play the pioneer role in this respect in spite of their limited capacities.

Nearly dead Khulna Shipyard Ltd and totally closed Dockyard and Engineering Works Ltd, Narayangonj were handed over to Bangladesh Navy 9 years and 2 years back respectively. The efficient management has made Khulna Shipyard Limited as a profitable organisation with the help of its 50 years- old infrastructure and facilities. But modernisation of the yard is the demand of the present business environment. On the other hand, some more time is required to make Dockyard and Engineering Works Ltd, Narayangonj profitable. The aforesaid organisations occupy the land of approximately 69 acres and 22 acres respectively.

There is enough scope to develop the present facilities and infrastructure and also to add new facilities as both the organisations have huge land area. But the new development or required expansion of the existing infrastructure is not possible with the limited fund and scope of the organisations within short span of time. Probably, at present the only viable option left before us is to construct ships under joint venture with the foreign buyers or entrepreneurs. So, if any foreign entrepreneur comes forward and we ca avail the opportunity, then these two organisations can successfully take part in the booming shipbuilding business. As a result, these two organisations will be able to flourish within a short span of time accommodating huge manpower. Our people can also be trained with the help of the foreign entrepreneurs. Even a highly skilled workforce of international standard in the shipbuilding sector will be developed in our country. Besides, our national economy will also be strengthened to a great extent by earning plenty of foreign currency. It is worth noting here that there is a great possibility to explore oil and gas in the Bay of Bengal. If the exploration of oil and gas is finalised then many oil companies from different countries of the world will stay in the Bay of Bengal with their ships and for that reason also we need to develop or expand our capability to construct and repair ships. The possibility of earning huge amount of foreign currency by repairing these foreign ships cannot be overlooked also. There is a great possibility of economic development of our country as soon as we can accommodate ourselves in the flourishing field of international business of shipbuilding and repair industry. To avail this opportunity other shipyards should take timely and correct steps like Anando Shipyard and Western Marine. If required, government help needs to be expanded in this field.

At present, Garment sector and UN Mission are our main sources of earning foreign currency. Though the shipbuilding and repair sector are not equivalent to the aforesaid two sources of earning foreign currency, still we can earn a huge amount of foreign currency through shipbuilding sector. So, we should try our level best to explore the possibility of joint venture and welcome any FDI in the shipbuilding sector. Of course, the interest of our country must be given top priority.

(The writer is the Managing Director, Khulna Shipyard Ltd)