Business Desk :
Although water vessels of various industries make movement in the inland water routes, Directorate of Shipping has made gazette of special policy guidelines targeting only the cement sector. As a result, businessmen connected with cement think that the step to make such policy guidelines will be prejudicial to the total construction industry. They termed a recent direction asking all vessels owned by cement manufacturers to sail under the supervision of controversial Water Transport Cell (WTC) to be unprecedented. A gazette published in this regard triggered uncertainty in the country’s potential industrial sector. Businessmen concerned think that the decision is contrary to government’s ‘industry-friendly’ policy.
The cement industry owners at a meeting on Monday called upon the authorities concerned to withdraw the direction of policy guidelines of 2013 that requires goods and materials of cement industries to be carried from one place of another by the lighter vessels, only registered with the Directorate of Shipping. The officials of Ministry of Shipping and other department concerned are urged to take step to resolve this problem.
Businessmen of the cement sector present at the meeting expressed regret and said the cement industries have got the position as the most promising sector. But a vested quarter is trying to destroy this sector as they are trying to disturb the cement transportation through waterways so that it would not be possible to transport the raw materials of cement industries easily in the name of own organisation. That is why the vested quarter is now in the field and using WBTC, Bangladesh Cargo Vessel Owners Association or Coastal Ship Owners Association of Bangladesh.
Sources said after publication of the gazette on policies of transportation for goods the sea ports on last May 21, that a vested quarter tried to take control of the whole transportation system under their grip sending letters to different industrial organizations.
According to Shipping Ministry sources, after formulation of the policy on transportation through lighter ships registered with the sea transportation directorate, the cement industries of the country opposed it from the very beginning.
The sufferer industrialists alleged that the freedom of transporting own products by own ships for the organisations has been snatched under the gazetted policies. But it would not be a rational ground.
Using government gazette, Bangladesh Cargo Vessels Owners Association (BCVOA) President Mahbub Uddin Ahmed himself sent this letter which raised excitement among the country’s industrialists.
Country’s cement sector traders said BCVOA has been playing dishonest role for carrying goods.
Mahbub Uddin, President, Bangladesh Cargo Vessels Owners Association (BCVOA) sent a letter to different owners of industrial units on May 27.
Referring to the gazette, he requested the industrialist to follow the guidelines of goods transportation policies-2013 for carrying goods through lighter ships to Bangladesh seaports.
Mahbub Uddin, President, BCVOA said, “We are considering policies of government as industry-friendly. For implementing the policies we are sending letter to different industrialists seeking cooperation. We have no bad intention.”
Bangladesh Cement Manufacturers’ Association President and Chairman of Meghna Group Mostafa Kamal said, “If the policies are implemented carrying raw materials through sea will be increased manifold and it will help price spiral.”
But he alleged that the policies have been formulated for protecting the interest of a quarter.
It is absurd to make mandatory to transport 50 percent of the imported commodities by Water Transport Cell (WTC) controlled ships said businessmen. Making companies bound to transport their commodities by another organisation’s ship is one kind of duress. Transportation and production of raw material is being badly hampered in this way. Price of cement will go up and infrastructural development will become slow. Industrialists and importers will have to face huge loss because of some people.
Industrialist Mustafa Kamal said we bought ships to transport our own raw materials, not for renting. We could not discharge commodities from ships in time due to WTC and had to pay crores of dollar as compensation. Again they are trying to make us bound to use WTC ships and we cannot let it happen.
Representative of Bangladesh Cement Manufacturers’ Association and Managing Director of Premier Cement Md. Amirul Haque said Department of Ocean Transport does not have any legal right to make any such policy and make importers bound to transport 50 percent of their imported products by WTC. The policy for transporting goods by liter ship is illegal and clashes with the existing law (Claus 102 of Constitution). Transportation of raw material on our own ship costs only Tk 250 which will cost more than double if transported by WTC. Department of Ocean Transport is implementing WTC’s agenda by making this policy. He demanded Prime Minister’s interference to cancel this policy.
