PM to inaugurate five new ships tomorrow
Procurement of six mother vessels and four container ships is also in process
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will inaugurate five new oceangoing vessels of the Bangladesh Shipping Corporation tomorrow.
The premier will formally flag off the ships through videoconferencing from her official residence Ganabhaban.
The shipping ministry procured six ships at a cost of over Tk1,637 crore as per a deal between Bangladesh and China. Of the total cost, Tk1,527.66 crore came from Chinese government while the remaining Tk109.49 crore was spent from the Bangladesh Shipping Corporation's own fund.
Of the six ships, three are oil tankers and three others are bulk carriers. Each of them has a capacity of 39,000 deadweight tonnes.
Earlier, the prime minister inaugurated the first of the procured ships named "MV Banglar Joyjatra" on November 1, 2018.
The new ships have been named as "MV Banglar Samriddhi", "MV Banglar Arjan", "MV Banglar Agrajatra", "MV Banglar Agradoot" and "MV Banglar Agragati".
With the inclusion of six new ships, the shipping corporation will have eight ships in its fleet.
Procurement of six mother vessels and four container ships is also in process.
The corporation earned Tk55.23 crore and Tk12.52 crore in profits in the fiscal years 2018-19 and 2017-18 respectively.
The new ships are expected to fetch around Tk79 crore in profits every year.
