The New Nation - Internet Edition

CHITTAGONG: A tripartite agreement has been signed among a Bangladeshi firm and two Danish firms to provide necessary training to Bangladeshi workforce in shipbuilding sector.

The agreement was singed at the Embassy of Denmark in Dhaka on Thursday.

Officials of Bangladeshi shipbuilding firm--Western Marine Shipyard Ltd (WMSL) and Danish firms Stella Shipping Ltd and the Plantware Ltd signed the agreement to impart necessary training to the engineers and naval architects of the WMSL in shipbuilding that covered areas from architectural designing to electrical design of a new ship.

Apart from enriching the country with shipbuilding technology by transferring technological know-how, the training would help Bangladesh to achieve self-sufficiency in the sector as well as reduce cost for manufacturing ship for export.

A six-member team of WMSL that comprised two marine engineers, two mechanical engineers and two naval architects left Dhaka for Denmark last month to receive training in the shipbuilding technology.

Danish International Development Assistance (DANIDA) will provide necessary support to implement a pilot project to this end under the supervision of Danish Embassy in Dhaka.

Officials concerned said the country would not need to depend on foreign experts for shipbuilding technology in future if a sizable number of local workforce acquired technological knowledge in ship manufacturing.

WMSL Chairman Saiful Islam, Managing Director Shakhawat Hossain and Stella Shipping Ltd Chairman Fabrecious were present at the agreement signing ceremony.