Boats stand dry-docked at Yadanabon Dockyard. Pic: Aung Tun Win

THE government-run Yadanabon Dockyard in Mandalay is seeking to increase cooperation with the private travel and tourism sector, said U SK Myat Thu, the deputy engineer of dockyard.

The dockyard is run by the Engineering Department of Mandalay Division Inland Water Transport (IWT).

U SK Myat Thu said the dockyard has already made a joint-venture agreement with Sun Far Travel and Tours in which vessels are leased to the company to take tourists on the Ayeyarwady River between Mandalay and Bagan.

“We have hired out four vessels to Sun Far – Shwe Kanenayi I, II and III and the Pandaw,” he said. “We can provide maintenance and repairs for the ships at Yadanabon but we would have to send the Pandaw to Yangon if it needed hull repairs.”

Meanwhile, Seven Star Travel and Tours is negotiating with IWT to hire a vessel to also carry passengers between Mandalay and Bagan.

“We have not confirmed which vessel they will lease from us but it will not be a three-deck ship like Shwe Kanenayi. Seven Star said they wanted to make modifications to the upper deck according to our own design,” U SK Myat Thu said.

He said the dockyard would take responsibility for labour and parts when the modifications were made.

He said Sun Far has also expressed interest in hiring a long, narrow, two-deck “chan”-type vessel to carry passengers up the Chindwin River.

“They have contacted us about modifying the design on that ship as well,” he said.

U SK Myat Thu the dockyard is interested in cooperating with the private sector not only for leasing ships but also for building new vessels.

“We are able to build new ships at Yadanabon Dockyard but we still haven’t been given any such projects from the head office. If IWT doesn’t have plans to build new ships we will look to the private sector to find people who want new ships built,” he said.