BNS ‘Shadhinota’ and BNS ‘Prottoy’ reached Chittagong Naval Jetty on Sunday morning.

Commodore AKM Faruk Hasan, director of the ships’ construction project, told reporters that China built this new type of frigate for the Bangladesh Navy.

They have a displacement of 1,300 tons and maximum speed of 25 knots, are both 90 meters long and 11 meters across the beam. It can accommodate 80 crew members, Hasan said.

It will be the most advanced frigate in the Bangladesh Navy, which will be a boost to its coastal defence capability, Rear Admiral Syed Abu Mansur Arshadul Abedin, Assistant Chief of Naval Staff had said at the launching ceremony at China's Wuhan two years ago.

Both frigates have their own helipads.

The frigate can detect, identify and destroy surface and aerial targets and can also carry out maritime monitoring and patrols, and search and rescue missions, said Cai Libin, deputy general manager of the Wuchang Shipbuilding Industry Group Co Ltd, which had build the frigate.

It is equipped with 76 mm and 30 mm naval guns as well as ship-to-ship and ship-to-air missiles, Libin told Xinhua.

Bangladesh government signed an agreement for the two ships with China Ship Building Company in 2012.

The construction of the warships started at Wuchang Shipyard in China on Jan 7, 2013.

The ships started for Chittagong from China’s Qidong port on Dec 26 last year.