Prime minister says warships will be build locally for Bangladesh Navy

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina says the government has plans to build warships locally to strengthen the Bangladesh Navy.

Speaking at the commissioning ceremony of three Navy warships in Chittagong on Saturday, she said, “Our government has undertaken an initiative to build warships locally under our own management.”

The prime minister said combat ships would be built at Chittagong Dry Dock, an enterprise of the government-run Bangladesh Steel and Engineering Corporation.

The newly commissioned combat ships are US-built ‘BNS Somudra Abhijan’ and China-made ‘BNS Swadhinata’ and ‘BNS Pratyay’.

Hasina announced that two submarine warships were going to join the Bangladesh Navy fleet this year for the first time.

She highlighted different measures initiated by her government for developing the navy’s infrastructure and enhancing ‘moral values and professional skills’ of its members.

The prime minister said Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Maritime University had been established to help the Bangladesh Navy consolidate its position and play a greater role in world peace.

She announced that works on building two corvettes for the Bangladesh Navy had begun in China.

Referring to the huge fisheries, minerals and other natural resources in Bangladesh’s maritime area, Hasina said the Navy would have to play the key role in protecting them.

She said her government in 2009 had formulated the ‘Forces Goal 2030’ for the Navy, under which 18 modern combat ships were added to the force.