MDL to invest Rs 15K cr in Dugarajapatnam shipyard

Amaravati; Andhra Pradesh has taken a major step towards establishing Dugarajapatnam as a shipbuilding hub with Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL), a Navratna Defence PSU under the Ministry of Defence, signing an MoU to develop a modern Greenfield shipyard with an investment of around Rs 15,000 crore.

The MoU was signed in the presence of Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu by MDL chairman and managing director Capt. Jagmohan (Retd) and National Shipbuilding and Heavy Industries Park-AP (NSHIP-AP) managing director Praveen Adhithya.

MDL plans to invest around Rs 15,000 crore over the next five to seven years, subject to statutory approvals and clearances.

The project is expected to generate direct and indirect employment for about 45,000 people and create opportunities across shipbuilding, marine engineering, manufacturing, logistics and allied sectors. The proposed shipyard will have a design capacity of 1.2 million Gross Tonnes (GT) a year with a provision for expansion as per market demand. It will be equipped to build tankers, bulk carriers, container ships, LNG carriers and other large specialised vessels for domestic and international markets.

The State government is planning an integrated shipbuilding-cum-port cluster at Dugarajapatnam. According to the Techno-Economic Feasibility Report, the estimated investment is Rs 29,254 crore for the shipbuilding and ship-repair yard and Rs 9,513 crore for the port, taking the combined project estimate to about Rs 38,767 crore. The port is proposed to be developed by the Government of India.

The cluster is being developed under the Centre’s Shipbuilding Development Scheme (SbDS), with MDL identified as the anchor shipyard. NSHIP-AP, the special purpose vehicle jointly formed by the Andhra Pradesh Maritime Board and Visakhapatnam Port Authority, is implementing the anchor-shipyard component.

Chief Minister said the State would use its long coastline, strategic location and industrial ecosystem to strengthen its position in India’s maritime sector. He said the Dugarajapatnam cluster, with MDL as the anchor shipyard, would help attract investments and ancillary industries and support India’s ambition to become one of the world’s top five shipbuilding nations by 2047.

MDL CMD Jagmohan said Dugarajapatnam offered the scale and maritime potential required for a globally competitive shipyard serving both domestic and international markets. Visakhapatnam Port Authority chairperson Jasmeet Singh Bindra said VPA, as a 50 per cent shareholder in NSHIP-AP, would support coordination with the Centre and its agencies.

Infrastructure and Investment secretary Kona Sasidhar said MDL’s selection as anchor shipyard was an important milestone in developing a shipbuilding and ancillary ecosystem in the State. The Andhra Pradesh Maritime Board will facilitate land, infrastructure and statutory clearances for timely implementation.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

The Hans India