Mazagaon Dock Shipbuilders To Develop Rs 15,000 Cr Greenfield Shipyard in Andhra

Amaravati: MDL, a PSU under the Ministry of Defence, on Friday inked an agreement with NSHIP-AP to develop a modern greenfield shipyard at Dugarajapatnam, Tirupati district with an investment of Rs 15,000 crore.

Inked in the presence of Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, the investment stretching over five to seven years is expected to generate around 45,000 jobs, an official release said.

“Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL) signed the pact with National Shipbuilding and Heavy Industries Park-Andhra Pradesh (NSHIP-AP) to develop a modern greenfield shipyard at Dugarajapatnam,” it said.

CM Naidu said that Andhra Pradesh is committed to being at the forefront of India’s ambition to become one of the world’s top five shipbuilding nations by 2047.

“Andhra Pradesh is committed to being at the forefront of this journey by leveraging its long coastline, strategic location and industrial ecosystem,” he said.

According to Naidu, the Dugarajapatnam shipbuilding cluster with MDL as the anchor shipyard will position Andhra Pradesh as a major shipbuilding hub and attract investments and ancillary industries to the state.

He said the project will also create large-scale employment and new opportunities in shipbuilding, marine engineering, manufacturing, logistics and other allied sectors.

The proposed shipyard will have a design capacity of 1.2 million gross tonnage per annum with scope for further expansion based on market requirements.

It will build commercial vessels, including tankers, bulk carriers and other large specialised vessels.

The southern state is envisaging the development of a greenfield shipbuilding-cum-port cluster at Dugarajapatnam.

The techno-economic feasibility report estimates the shipbuilding and ship repair yard at an approximate cost of Rs 29,254 crore and the port at Rs 9,513 crore, the release said.

The port is proposed to be developed by the Government of India.

The shipbuilding cluster is being developed under the Government of India’s Shipbuilding Development Scheme (SbDS).

NSHIP-AP, a Special Purpose Vehicle jointly formed by the Andhra Pradesh Maritime Board and Visakhapatnam Port Authority, has identified MDL as the anchor shipyard, the release said.

Captain Jagmohan (retd), chairman & managing director, MDL, said Dugarajapatnam has the scale and maritime potential to develop a globally competitive shipyard.

He said MDL aims to create a modern facility serving both domestic and international markets.

Jasmeet Singh Bindra, chairperson, Visakhapatnam Port Authority (VPA), said as a 50 per cent shareholder in NSHIP-AP, the port is committed to the development of the shipbuilding cluster and will support coordination with the Government of India and other central government agencies.

Kona Sasidhar, Secretary, Infrastructure & Investment, Andhra Pradesh government, said the selection of MDL as the anchor shipyard is an important milestone in the state’s maritime development.

He said the project has the potential to create a major shipbuilding and ancillary ecosystem at Dugarajapatnam.

The Andhra Pradesh Maritime Board will facilitate land, infrastructure and statutory clearances required for the timely development of the project, the release added.

(Disclaimer: Except for the headline, this article has not been edited by HDFC Sky editorial team and is auto-generated from PTI feed.)