Ship-breaking goes green; turns key tool to boost economy

AKM Moinuddin, UNB Staff Writer, Back from China

Dhaka, Aug 12 (UNB) -- The country’s ship-breaking industry that is growing fast will soon go green and workers-friendly as steps are underway to protect the environment and offer better benefits to workers.
And it’ll also turn one of the major tools for boosting the economy, stakeholders hope.
Experience and ideas gained from different ship-breaking nations like China and India are actively being considered in formulating the rules and regulations for ship-breaking, which was recently formally recognised as an industry.
The parties involved in the sector said they would take it as a serious job to make sure that least damage is done to the environment and better deals are offered to the workers engaged in the sector.
Ship-breaking yard owners pledged to implement and follow the rules and regulations being taken by the government to help grow the sector which makes a significant contribution to the economy and generate employments.
"We’re moving in the right direction. Just wait and see. Bangladesh’s ship-breaking industry will soon be recognised as a global example for its environment-friendly growth and expansion," Industries Minister Dilip Barua told UNB correspondent AKM Moinuddin after visiting three ship-breaking yards in China.
He said certain quarters are raising questions hindering the growth of the sector in the name of environmental stewardship, but such doubts will disappear in two years from now.
He hoped the industry will turn into a global leader “within the next five years” and act as one of the key tools for driving the economic growth.
"Experience gained from china will help us formulate rules and regulations for the ship-breaking industry,” he said.
Talking to this correspondent, Bangladesh Ship-breakers’ Association president Hefazatur Rahman said: “It’s good to have rules and regulations. Since it’s now under government, it’ll run differently by ensuring workers rights and protecting the environment.”
Replying to a question, he said they would not have any problems to follow the rules and regulations set by the government strictly if those are designed based on Bangladesh’s perspective.
Association's technical adviser Captain Salahuddin Ahmed said the industries ministry should have its own strategy to promote the sector ensuring green growth. “Hope, the China experience will help [us] much in this regard.”
Ship-breaking Yards Workers Foundation president Md Safar Ali said the situation is changing fast and the workers are relatively in a better condition.
“Now the victim’s family gets Tk one lakh in cash if any worker dies in any accident, which was rare before. We’re working hard to ensure workers’ rights,” he said.
On February 13, the government declared the ship-breaking as an industry after a high-profile meeting, where Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, a number of ministers, advisers and senior officials were present to discuss the sector's both positive and negative sides.
The ship-breaking industry, located at the seashore in Chittagong, is the main source of bulk of the raw materials used by some 500 private sector rerolling mills and nearly 50 steel mills for producing mild steel rods, bars and angles at affordable prices.
The environmentalists fear that it’s unregulated and the haphazard growth might lead to a serious environmental degradation and health hazards, but Industries Minister Dilip Barua said, “This fear and doubt would disappear”.
"We'll take a pragmatic as well as environment- and workers- friendly policy to ensure the sector's sustainability, which is a must for the country's economic development," he said.
The growing demand for steel products in the country has encouraged a good number of private sector people to be engaged in the industry that proved to be very rewarding in terms of profit and employment generation.
However, there are allegations that the ship-breakers often violate the environment by dumping hazardous chemicals and other materials on the sea-beach, rather callously.
The government has already prepared a draft rule titled 'Ship-breaking and Hazardous Waste Management Rules, 2010' that has been posted on the official website of the Ministry of Environment and Forests seeking public opinion on it.
END/UNB/AKM/China