Prime minister Sheikh Hasina attends the President Parade 2015 marking the passing out of Midshipman-2014/A and DEO 2015/B batches of Bangladesh Naval Academy in Chittagong on Wednesday.
Prime minister Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday said two submarines will be added to the fleet of Bangladesh Navy by mid next year to turn it into a three-dimensional force.
‘A process to this end has been finalised. With this, the dream of Bangabandhu for turning Bangladesh Navy into a three-dimensional force will be fulfilled,’ she said.
Sheikh Hasina said this while addressing the President Parade 2015 marking the passing out of Midshipman-2014/A and DEO 2015/B batches of Bangladesh Naval Academy held at the academy parade ground here.
The prime minister said setting up of a submarine base and its related infrastructure is underway, while the construction work on the country’s biggest naval base with aviation facilities has begun at Rabnabad in Patuakhali.
A total of 53 midshipmen, including one from Sri Lanka, and 24 Direct Entry Officers got commission this year.
On the occasion a parade, participated by midshipmen of passing out batches and different contingents of the navy, was arranged. The prime minster reviewed the smartly turned out parade and took salute.
She also distributed awards among the best midshipmen or their outstanding performance in the academy. The Midshipmen and the Direct Entry Officers took oath.
Midshipman Fahim Uddin Sakib adjudged as the best midshipman and received the ‘Sword of Honour’ while acting sub lieutenant M Rehanurzaman received the Shahid Moazzem Padak for best academic result.
Midshipman Zahid Hossain Kabir got Bir Shrestha Shaheed Ruhul Amin Gold Medal while Midshipman M Reazul Islam received Naval Chief Gold Medal for acquiring highest standard in professional and educational subjects.
The prime minister said the construction work on Bangabandhu Complex with modern facilities is underway at the Naval Academy, while two corvette ships-’Pratya’ and ‘Swadhinata’ – are being made in China, and a US-made frigate ‘Samudra Abhijan’ would be inducted in Bangladesh Navy next month.
Earlier, on her arrival at the BMA parade ground, the prime minister was received by Navy Chief Vice Admiral M Farid Habib and Commander of Chittagong naval area Rear Admiral M Akhtar Habib.
Later, prime minister Sheikh Hasina, at a function marking the handover of Chittagong Dry Dock to Bangladesh Navy, said the handover of the Chittagong Dry Dock to Navy is a milestone in Bangladesh’s shipbuilding history as it marks gradual advancement of the force.
‘It’s my expectation that the Bangladesh Navy will keep its sign of success through turning Chittagong Dry Dock Limited as a state of the art and effective organisation,’ she said.
The prime minister said once the Dry Dock was a sick enterprise but it will turn into a healthy and profitable one and contribute to the economic development of the country.
She hoped that the Dry Dock authorities will be able to meet the local demand and thus be able to export abroad.
Prime minister Sheikh Hasina formally handed over the order of the transfer to the managing director of the Dry Dock commodore M Jahangir Alam and unveiled the nameplate of the dry dock on its premises.
The handover agreement was signed by industries secretary Mosharraf Hossain Bhuiyan and Assistant Chief of Naval Staff Rear Admiral SAMA Abedin.
Source: New Age
