Invest more in Bangladesh's Shipbuilding Industry
Bangladeshi shipbuilders are now building a number of diversified types of vessels such as multipurpose vessel, fast patrol boat, container vessel, cargo vessel, tanker, dredging barge, etc Syed Zakir Hossain.
The global shipbuilding industry size is $1,600 billion. If only 1% market share can be captured by Bangladesh, it will be worth $16 billion'
With the government emphasizing diversification of the export basket, the local shipbuilding industry is likely to be the next prospective sector for Bangladeshi entrepreneurs.
Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen said this while speaking at a session titled "Blue Economy: Discover the Future" of the ‘International Investment Summit 2021 Bangladesh" in the capital on Sunday.
As per World Trade Organization (WTO), the global shipbuilding industry size is $1,600 billion. If only 1% market share can be captured by Bangladesh, it will be worth $16 billion, he also said.
The foreign minister also said that even if Bangladesh grabbed the global orders for small shops, that alone would amount to $4 billion.
Momen added that the government has recently introduced Shipbuilding Industry Development Policy-2020 aimed at earning $4 billion annually from ship exports by the year 2025 by creating a facilitating environment for backward linkage industries.
"The government is committed to provide funds for the entrepreneurs in this regard. Our gas and oil are open for international oil companies," he said, adding that Bangladesh is already in the process of conducting seismic surveys.
He also urged enterprises to invest in marine tourism to grab the attention of both local and international tourists.
The minister also called for investment at various wings of the blue economy emphasizing on mariculture as 88% of the country's fishing zone remains untapped.
So far we have penetrated about only 12% of the total fishing zone, while 88% area is still untapped ... it's a limitless opportunity (for investors), he said.
Momen said that only 120 out of 475 species of white fishes, available in the Bay of Bengal, are being caught while only 6 to 7 among 36 species of shrimps are available for catching as the country's deep sea fishing capacity only reaches 50-60 nautical mile.
These data show that there are plenty of opportunities to make money, he informed both local and international investors.
Nine maritime economic functions have been identified including fishery, maritime trade and shipping, energy and marine tourism while the government has adopted a "Blue Economy Development Work Plan", he added.
"We need necessary capacity building and investment for getting the most out of these identified sectors," Momen urged.