German delegation seeks shipbuilding partnership

A visiting German business delegation yesterday expressed its interest
in forming a sustainable, long-term partnership in shipbuilding and
other sectors in Bangladesh. "German companies operate with long-term
perspective, including transfer of technology and know-how and
involvement of local partners in value creation," said Peter Clasen,
head of the visiting delegation of OAV-German Asia-Pacific Business
Association. "Their approach (German companies) is not short-term
profit but a sustainable long-term partnership," he said. The
statement came at a seminar on shipbuilding industry at the country's
biggest shipbuilder Ananda Shipyard and Slipways Ltd ( ASSL) at
Meghnaghat on the outskirts of the capital. Citing cooperation
between Komrowski Group, a Hamburg-based trading and shipping company,
and Ananda Shipyard, Clasen said: "We wish further cooperation
between Bangladesh and Germany in shipbuilding and related
industries." The German delegation arrived in Dhaka yesterday on a
weeklong trip to explore business opportunities in shipbuilding,
energy, engineering and textiles in Bangladesh. Shipping Minister
Shajahan Khan and German Ambassador in Bangladesh Holger Michael were
present at the programme chaired by ASSL Chairman Abdullahel Bari.
Khan said his ministry had attached utmost attention to the
development of shipbuilding. " Bangladesh has demonstrated its skills
in building ships of international standards," he said. In the past
several years, two local shipbuilders ASSL and Western Marine
Shipyard Ltd bagged orders for making more than 40 vessels of about
$600 million mainly from European buyers. ASSL has handed a couple of
ships to its buyers in Denmark and Mozambique. Discussants at the
seminar observed that Bangladesh has the capacity to tap the global
shipbuilding market as it can provide skilled and semiskilled workers
at low-cost compared to other shipbuilding nations. Operators said
about 200 shipyards and workshops, employing about 100 ,000 skilled
and semiskilled workers, are in operation to meet demand of the
riverine country, offering a cheaper man-hour than any other
shipbuilding country. The industry estimates that ships built in
Bangladesh would be about 15-20 percent cost competitive compared
with the countries such as India, China, Korea and Singapore. "I would
like to convey my message through the German delegation to Europe and
to the maritime world that Bangladesh would play a potential role in
the global export shipbuilding market in coming years," said the
minister. "The government will extend all support enabling the sector
to thrive with quality and compete with other ship exporting
countries," Khan said. He urged the developed nations to transfer
technology to Bangladesh, which will develop the sector.