Meghna Group to purchase two new oceangoing vessels

Meghna Group of Industries, one of the leading business empires in Bangladesh, is set to buy two brand new oceangoing vessels for $50 million (about Tk 400 crore).

This is the first time in the country's history that a private sector company is buying brand new bulk vessels. Each ship is of 64,000 deadweight tonnes.

“These ships will carry Bangladesh's flags,” said Mostafa Kamal, chairman and managing director of Meghna Group of Industries.

The state-of-the-art vessels will be equipped with the latest technology and modern machineries, the group said in a statement.

The vessels will help Bangladesh remain competitive in the global freight market and the end consumers will also benefit as the goods will be priced competitively.

The project will generate a large number of direct and indirect employment opportunities including those of stevedores, shipping agents and others, according to the statement.

The deal was signed on Wednesday with Chinese Taizhou Sanfu Ship Engineering Co and Jiangsu Ruihai International Trade Co in Dhaka. Tofail Ahmed, commerce minister, attended the signing ceremony as chief guest.

Md Mazibul Hoque, railways minister; Shajahan Khan, shipping minister; and Azam J Chowdhury, chairman of East Coast Group and president of the Ocean Going Ship Owners Association of Bangladesh, also attended the ceremony.