As soon as famed by introducing Bangladesh as a shipbuilding nation, the Western Marine Shipyard is now languishing from capital crunch and is searching for fund to outlive, officers mentioned.
The corporate final week appealed to the federal government to supply it with working capital from the stimulus package deal supplied to assist the financial system bounce again from the Covid-19 pandemic fallouts.
Indebted to banks and monetary establishments by over Tk 11 billion, the export-oriented shipbuilding firm is now dealing with extreme cash-flow disaster that at the moment its ‘enterprise is on the verge of full shutdown’.
The Chittagong-based shipbuilder, which has thus far earned US$100 million by exporting 33 ships in 11 international locations, first suffered from world financial recession in 2012 adopted by Eurozone disaster which led to cancellation of overseas orders.
Based on its current letter to the monetary establishment division, the corporate throughout the interval had to supply large reductions to patrons and incurred a lack of 6.50 million euro from non-repatriation of export proceeds.
“Once more the affect of Covid-19 left our enterprise utterly shattered from the start of 2020,” the corporate managing director Captain Sohail Hasan wrote.
“Being depending on China for uncooked supplies, our provide chain system utterly broke proper after the pandemic breakout. It led to cancellation of extra overseas and native work orders,” he added.
He additionally wrote that their factories remained closed for months because the manufacturing facility space Patiya was categorised as ‘crimson zone’ for Covid-19 which resulted in a extreme money move disaster and broke down its monetary power.
Mr Hasan acknowledged that the corporate is now in “speedy want of working capital” for mobilisation and earliest supply of ongoing work orders.
The corporate has work orders of 4 export ships for Norwegian and UAE patrons, two passenger ships for Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Company (BIWTC), two tugboats for Chittagong port and one for Payra port, two touchdown crafts for Bangladesh Military and 21 ships for native non-public sector. All these tasks’ complete worth is Tk7.0 billion.
Chairman of Western Marine Shipyard Saiful Islam advised the FE on Friday that the corporate began operation in full swing after the pandemic scenario eased final 12 months.
“Because of the pandemic, the shipping sector has been badly affected,” he mentioned.
The sector now wants authorities’s coverage assist in addition to monetary assist to make a comeback, he added.
Replying to a question, he mentioned if working capital is given from the pandemic stimulus package deal his firm will be capable of make supply of the orders easily and make debt servicing correctly.
Supply: Monetary Categorical
