Western Marine has inaugurated the construction work of another Ro-Ro ferry through a keel-laying ceremony on its premises in Patiya on Sunday. This is the second time Western Marine will be building a similar ferry for the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Corporation (BIWTC).
The Bangladeshi shipyard first built and successfully delivered a Ro-Ro ferry for domestic use. Previously, these ferries used to be imported from Denmark.
The new ferry will operate in the Padma River from Chandpur to Shariatpur, said a media release on Monday. In July 2011, Western Marine delivered the first Ro-Ro ferry, ‘Md Ruhul Amin’ to BIWTC.
To meet the crisis in the transportation sector, the government has taken initiatives to procure more ferries to enhance the inland waterway transportation system of Bangladesh.
Western Marine was awarded the work order upon bidding the lowest price in an international tender. The contract price for this ship is around Tk 25 crore. One Bank Ltd will be the financial partner of Western Marine Shipyard in financing this project.
The shipyard is scheduled to deliver the ferry in 18 months. The 60-meter long ferry will have a carrying capacity of 340 passengers and 27 trucks. The keel laying took place in presence of shipyard technical director Arifur Rahman Khan, addl chief engineer and project director of BIWTC Abdur Rahim Talukder, chief engineer & ship surveyor of Department of Shipping Mirza Saifur Rahman and surveyor of GL Bangladesh Ataur Rahman. – UNB
