The government has initiated measures to simplify approval procedures and eliminate institutional complexities to enhance the international competitiveness of shipbuilding and ship-recycling industries.
Speaking at a review meeting, Commerce Minister Khandakar Abdul Muktadir stressed that relevant processes must be expedited and simplified to ensure a suitable working environment for foreign buyers.
In the same meeting, Environment Minister Abdul Awal Mintoo directed the swift setup of a waste management infrastructure, the Treatment, Storage, and Disposal Facility (TSDF).
The directions came on Tuesday during a meeting of the committee formed to review existing laws, rules, and policies governing the ship-recycling industry and formulate recommendations, held at the Ministry of Commerce in Secretariat.
Discussions focused on ship waste management, yard modernisation, environmental compliance, and eliminating bureaucratic delays in granting clearances, with special emphasis placed on enabling file approvals and clearances directly from Chattogram.
Highlighting global market dynamics, Muktadir mentioned that Bangladesh must advance based on capability against competitor nations to secure international shipbuilding orders.
He stressed taking the policies of leading shipbuilding countries as benchmarks to simplify domestic procedures.
Muktadir disclosed that a special committee led by him, in association with the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA), is actively working to simplify rules and procedures.
Emphasising the need for effective and implementable policies, he warned that rules that cannot be implemented lose their efficacy over time, calling on regulatory bodies to change their working attitude to ensure proper enforcement and compliance.
Addressing financing bottlenecks and stuck loans in the shipbuilding sector, Muktadir acknowledged banking constraints and urged stakeholders not to spend long periods on old loan complexities, but to find pathways out of current crises.
He announced prompt meetings and coordinated initiatives with all stakeholders to expand facilities for entrepreneurs and remove existing barriers.
Regarding ship recycling, Muktadir noted that Bangladesh will attach importance to implementing the Hong Kong Convention to upgrade the sector to eco-friendly and international standards, adding that any implementation gaps or ambiguities could be addressed through a national charter.
He stressed balancing environmental protection with economic potential, assuring that unnecessary procedural complexities would not be allowed to impede the sector’s progress while maintaining environmental standards.
He added that the process of implementing the TSDF quickly is currently ongoing.
Meanwhile, Mintoo pointed out that due to the absence of a TSDF, parties associated with European ships hesitate to work in Bangladesh and are choosing alternative destinations, preventing the country from fully realising the potential of its ship-recycling industry.
Mintoo noted that European ships carry high-quality recyclable components, making it essential to establish the necessary treatment, storage, and disposal infrastructure to attract them and bolster the sector’s competitive standing.
Highlighting the demand for raw materials and scrap in domestic housing and re-rolling industries, he stressed the need to balance international convention compliance with keeping industrial operations running, advising stakeholders to work together to eliminate redundant procedural hurdles.
Presenting the working paper at the meeting, Industries Secretary Abdun Naser Khan informed that a Working Group of the One Stop Service platform has started work to accelerate ship-recycling activities.
He added that guidelines for constructing “Green Yards” in alignment with Hong Kong Convention are being formulated, alongside ongoing work to decentralise the Department of Environment’s clearance process.
To avoid existing delays of 45 to 60 days in obtaining clearances, the meeting discussed in detail arrangements to approve files directly from Chattogram, emphasizing local-level processing to reduce turnaround time and simplify industry operations.
The meeting was also attended by Cabinet Secretary Nasimul Ghani, Finance Secretary Md Khairuzzaman Mozumder, Law and Parliamentary Affairs Secretary Md Liakat Ali Mollah, along with senior officials from relevant departments.
