Amir Khasru calls for deregulation to boost ship recycling industry

The government should facilitate the growth of the country’s industries, especially shipbreaking and recycling, rather than only regulating them, BNP standing committee member and former commerce minister Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury said.

"Bangladesh has to set a target to cut 30 per cent or 5,000 ships in the next 10 years out of the 15,000 expected to be dismantled. The government should develop its support system to grab the opportunity rather than hindering the industry," he said.

He made the remarks at a roundtable meeting on 'Challenges and Possibilities of Ship Recycling in Bangladesh,' organized by the Bangladesh Ship Breakers and Recyclers Association (BSBRA), held in a hotel in the city on Tuesday.

BSBRA acting president Zahirul Islam, Norway’s ambassador to Dhaka Hakon Arald Gulbrandsen, and the Dutch head of Mission of the Dutch Embassy in Dhaka, Thijs Woudstra, among others, spoke at the event.

Both the government and businesses have to set targets for how much of the opportunity could be grabbed, Mr. Chowdhury said, adding that problems emerge whenever any industry grows.

Bangladesh is an overregulated country, and all have to fight to remain out of such regulations, he said, raising the question of how businesses would operate in such a situation.

He further stressed the need for deregulation in trade and the country, adding that trade bodies and associations must be self-regulated and the government should act as a watchdog.

He also noted that in the future, they would 'seriously' deregulate to ensure good governance and the growth of the economy.

Mr. Chowdhury also said it is the government that has to take initiatives to provide the required support, ranging from technical to financial assistance, and address workers' issues, taking climate change mitigation and adaptation into consideration.

Munni_fe@yahoo.com