DHAKA, Nov 8, 2023 (BSS) - Senior Secretary of the Industries Ministry Zakia Sultana today urged the development partner countries, including Norway and Japan, for funding in the country's ship recycling industry.

"Ship recycling is a promising sector for Bangladesh. Bangladesh is one of the leading ship recycling countries in the world. Bangladesh has 108 ship recycling yards located in Sitakunda Upazila of Chattogram district," she said.

The industries secretary said this while speaking as the chief guest at a function on 'Inception workshop on IMO-Norway sensrec Project Phase III' at a hotel in the city, said a press release.

Zakia Sultana informed that the average annual growth of the ship recycling industry in this country is about 14 percent.

"Around 60-70 percent of the country's overall iron demand comes from the ship recycling industry. The income from this sector is about more than US$800 million and the government revenue is about $100-$120 million. More than 300 re-rolling steel mills depend on this industry. As a result, this industry is playing a major role in the overall sustainable development of the country," she added.

Among others, Norwegian Ambassador in Dhaka Espen Rikter-Svendsen, Japanese Ambassador to Bangladesh IWAMA Kiminori and International Labor Organization (ILO) Country Director Tuomo Poutiainen spoke on the occasion.