Two companies based in Singapore, the Netherlands, and Australia want to set up an international standard shipyard near Patuakhali’s Payra port. The two companies have jointly shown interest in investing 158 crore dollars in Bangladesh to build a shipbuilding factory, which stands at Tk 13,430 crore in Bangladeshi currency. The two companies are Singapore and Australia-based Gentium Solutions and the Dutch company Damen Shipyards Group. If the project is implemented, it will be the highest foreign direct investment (FDI) in Bangladesh.
Kaikobad Hossain, an advisor to Gentium Solutions, and Eef van den Broek, Damen Group’s Senior Naval Director, and Rabien Bahadoer, Asia Pacific director at Damen Shipyards, made the proposal during a meeting with Minister of Industries Nurul Majid Mahmud Humayun on Monday (24 January). Industries Secretary Zakia Sultana, Gentium’s Assistant Advisor Saidur Rahman Selim, Gentium’s Technical Chief Brigadier General (retd.) Arif Ahmed Chowdhury, Additional Secretary to the Ministry of Industries Faizul Amin, and concerned officials were present on the occasion.
The Minister of Industries said that the Bangladesh government wants to go from a ‘ship buyer nation’ to a ‘shipbuilding nation’. The Prime Minister has announced that shipbuilding and ship repair industries will be set up in the Payra port area. Once the proposed project is finalised, the Ministry of Industries or BSEC will provide land to the Government of Bangladesh in the area adjacent to the Payra port and the Government will extend all possible assistance in setting up a world-class shipbuilding factory.
Establishing a shipbuilding factory near Payra port in Patuakhali is a project promised by the Prime Minister. During her visit to Patuakhali in 2014, she announced the construction of a shipyard here. During her visit to the Ministry of Industries in 2015, she asked for immediate action in this regard. The Ministry of Industries identified it as a priority project and took initiative to implement it. The Government of Bangladesh has set aside 101 acres of land for this project in the area adjacent to Payra port.
During the meeting, the representatives on behalf of the investors said that the shipbuilding industry needs a lot of workers. If the project is implemented, in the first phase, about two thousand regional and local people will be employed. By working with specialised companies like Gentium-Damen, Bangladeshi workers will have the opportunity to increase their skills.
