State-owned dockyards need to consider long-term interests with high capability by building vessels similar to the 150-year-old Dala Dockyard.

 

SENIOR General Min Aung Hlaing stressed the need to conduct re­search to use battery power for running vessels.

 

A ceremony to mark the 150th anni­versary of the historic Dala Dockyard took place in Dala Township, Yangon Region, with an address by Chairman of the State Administration Council Prime Minister Senior General Min Aung Hlaing yester­day morning.

 

On his arrival, the Senior General and party were welcomed by children from families of the staff at Dala Dockyard.

 

Deputy Prime Minister Union Min­ister for Transport and Communications General Mya Tun Oo, Union Minister for Industry Dr Charlie Than and Yangon Re­gion Chief Minister U Soe Thein formally opened the No 1 upgraded dock lane, new dock trailer and 1,500-tonne tugboat as a gesture of honouring the sesquicentenary celebration of the dockyard.

 

The Senior General unveiled the plaque of the heavy renovation of the his­toric diesel workshop built in 1875 at the shipyard and the historic signboard and sprinkled scented water on the plaque.

 

Speaking on the occasion, the Senior General said that the 150th anniversary of the shipyard took place at the ancient diesel workshop where they all watched a video clip on records of Inland Water Transport and Dala Dockyard.

 

He continued that inland water trans­port must be upgraded to coastal ship­ping, river freight transport to coastal freight transport, container transport and maritime freight systems to achieve greater connectivity and growth.

 

The Senior General highlighted that State-owned dockyards need to consider long-term interests with high capabil­ity by building vessels similar to Dala Dockyard.

 

The Senior General stressed the need to conduct research to use battery power for running vessels.

 

He added that shipyards must be equipped with necessary facilities such as dock lanes, machinery, construction workshops, forklifts and heavy machinery, and essential equipment for vessel design creation to conform to global standards.

 

He underlined that relevant maritime departments have to exchange experiences and tech­nologies of the ship-building pro­cess under the maritime rules and regulations for the existence of historic dockyards to develop the maritime sector develop­ment of the State.

 

The Senior General empha­sized that to ensure the safe and secure operation of inland water transport, efforts must be made not only in riverine transport but also in coastal shipping, coastal cargo transport, and the inte­gration of coastal and riverine passenger and cargo transport services.

 

He underscored that by as­sessing the state’s funding sup­port, market availability, and the potential for economic profita­bility, efforts should be made to enhance the transport of goods along the coastal waterways by leveraging the capabilities of the Dala Dockyard.

 

SAC Member Deputy Prime Minister Union Minister for Transport and Communications General Mya Tun Oo reported on the background of the shipyard, work process, and implemen­tation of shipyard functions in accord with the guidance of the Head of State and plans.

 

The Senior General present­ed cash awards to employees of the shipyard and visited the exhibition of the shipyard on doc­umentary photos, scale models of vessels and others displayed at the ancient diesel workshop.

 

The Senior General inspect­ed the heavy renovation of ves­sels, testing the scale models of vessels to build the coastal cargo vessels at the worksite of the shipyard and left necessary guidance.

 

Also present at the ceremo­ny were Council Joint Secretary General Ye Win Oo, council mem­bers, union ministers, union-lev­el dignitaries, senior Tatmadaw officers from the Office of the Commander-in-Chief, the com­mander of Yangon Command, of­ficials from the Ministry of Trans­port and Communications and employees from the shipyard.

 

Dala Dockyard is the oldest shipyard under the Inland Wa­ter Transport. It renovated IWT vessels, created vessel designs and built ships in successive eras while manufacturing machinery and vessel parts, repairing ves­sels of other departments and enterprises successfully. As workshops, dock lanes and ma­chinery are old at Dala Dockyard with lease capacity, docklanes were renovated, new machinery installed and buildings improved at the shipyard under the guid­ance of the Head of State. Hence, Dala Dockyard has plans to im­plement its new future duties assigned by the IWT, based on developed human resources, by constantly monitoring the chang­ing trading system. — MNA/TTA