BIWTA procures 10 new tugboats
It costs the BIWTA around Tk167 crore to procure these 10 bollard pull tugboats weighing 12 tonnes each
The Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) has procured 10 tugboats to transport dredgers and non-propelled vessels to different parts of the country.
State Minister for Shipping Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury on Saturday inaugurated the construction work (keel-laying) on the 10 bollard pull tugboats at the Bangladesh Navy Dockyard and Engineering Works Limited at Sonakanda in Narayanganj.
Bollard pull is a conventional measure of the pulling (or towing) power of watercraft and is comparable to the horsepower rating of conventional vehicle engines.
Each bollard pull tugboat weighs 12 tonnes. It will cost the BIWTA around Tk167 crore to procure these 10 boats.
Apart from these, a process is underway to collect seven more tugboats that will cost around Tk98 crore.
During the keel-laying ceremony, Khalid Mahmud said the government has procured 38 dredgers over the last 10 years and the process to purchase another 35 is in the works.
Shipping Secretary Mohammad Mezbah Uddin Chowdhury, Assistant Navy Chief (Materials) Rear Admiral M ShafiulAzam, BIWTA Chairman Commodore Golam Sadeq other high officials of the dockyard, the BIWTA, and the shipping ministry were also present during the keel-laying ceremony.
