Shipbuilding and repair get support

The Industry Ministry and the Board of Investment (BoI) layed out to support the shipbuilding and repair industry, in the hope of making Thailand a world-class shipbuilding country.

Cooperation on developing the industry was signaled by the signing of an agreement yesterday by the Office of Industrial Economics (OIE), the Thai Shipbuilding & Repairing Association (TSRA), the Finance Ministry, the BoI and Chulalongkorn University.

According Atchaka Brimble, the OIE director-general, the agency sees bright prospects for the industry, which hopes to capitalise on growing global demand. The office would play a major role as an industrial preparation centre, while the BoI will offer investment incentives. She added that the agreement also called on the Finance Ministry to amend tariff rates on equipment and machinery to support the industry.

Chulalongkorn University will initiate programs to train workers for the emerging industry while the TSRA will develop a database for the shipbuilding industry. Ms Atchaka said most shipbuilding and repair services in Thailand were weak, and would require large capital investment.

The shipbuilding and repair market was 5.81 billion baht in 2006