The High Court restriction on importing scrap vessels will leave about one million employees in the ship-breaking industry jobless while the government may face losses of Tk 4 billion in revenue, said businessmen.
“One million people are facing the risks of losing jobs directly and indirectly because of the High Court directive,” Ship Breakers Association President Hefazetur Rahman told the daily sun on Saturday.
The HC in a suo moto rule issued on Wednesday directed the government to stop recycling of toxic ships in the country until further orders. It also ordered the authorities not to let the four imported ships, brought for scrapping, in the country.
Hefazetur Rahman pointed out that over a dozen ship breaking yards in Sitakunda employ thousands of workers in our country where unemployment is a major problem.
Sitakunda, which houses one of the leading yards in the world, produces 1.6-1.7 million tonnes of iron annually. The ever growing iron-based industries are the customers of this local industry.
The ship-breaking sector, which employs around 1.2 million people, contributes Tk 4 billion to the government coffer annually as taxes and duties, he added.
Chairman of Bangladesh Steel Re-rolling Mills Ltd (BSRM) Ali Hussain Akbarali expressed his stand against any ban on imported vessels which, he said, will hurt the country’s iron industries.
“The country will face a big problem if the ban continues for a long period,” he said. BSRM is one of the leading mild steel rod producing companies in South Asia, having a production capacity of 0.37 million tonnes a year. It also uses scrap iron to produce high quality rod.
He pointed out that the ban will force the government and the private sector to import steel raw materials at a high rate to meet the growing demand of iron at home.
One tonne of scraps produced at Sitakunda yard costs $400, but the import cost will stand at $500-600, he said.
The BRSM chairman suggested that the government formulate rules for the ship-breaking industry and ensure strict monitoring to keep the highly competitive ship-breaking yards in Sitakunda operative.
Rolling Mills Association President Mohammad Ali also expressed worries, saying small factories will collapse because of the ban on scrapping vessels.
Bangladesh Re-rolling Association Chairman Sheikh Maksudul Alam told the daily sun that more than 60 percent factories in the country already had to shut down because of the problems in the ship-breaking industry.
Real Estate and Housing Association of Bangladesh President Nasrul Hamid Bipu said middle- and lower middle-class people will be the worst sufferers because of the high price of iron rod, which will affect the housing business seriously.
The price of a tonne of iron rod is already high on local market. The ban will further push up the price, he explained.
Source: The Daily Sun. 23/01/2011. by Shawkat Ali Khan
No comments:
Post a Comment