"Government is planning to set up two international size shipyards costing Rs 2,000 crore each on east and west coast. Ennore Port will be the nodal agency for the east coast shipyard while the Mumbai Port will be for the west coast," a senior government official said.
These yards have a capacity to build and repair ships up to Ultra Large Crude Carrier (ULCC) of over 300,000 Dead Weight Tonne (DWT) size.
Ennore Port has already invited Expression of Interest (EoI) from private players for setting up the yard while Mumbai Port will shortly follow suite.
"The location for shipyard on the west coast could be either on Pipavav or Mundra in Gujarat, considering the channel depth. The international yard on the east coast could be on Kakinada in Andhra Pradesh or in Tamil Nadu," a higly placed source said.
The Tuticorin Port has firmed up plans to build a shipyard on a build-operate-transfer or lease basis at a cost of Rs 1,500 crore, which will build six panamax size vessels in a year.
"Chennai-based Goodearth Maritime has prepared a pre-feasibility report by engaging international consultant Kora Maritime Consultant Company of Korea. The board of Tuticorin will consider this proposal and call for EoIs shortly," said a Tuticorin Port official.
Kandla Port Trust (KPT) has invited EoI for setting up a shipbuilding yard at Tuna with a total cost of Rs 2,500 crore in various phases.
Kolkata Port Trust (KoPT) is also exploring options of tying up with state-run shipbuilders such as Garden Reach & Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE) and Hooghly Dock & Port Engineers (HDPE) for upgrading its dry docking facilities into a full-fledged shiprepair yard.
New Mangalore Port Trust (NMPT) is the latest one to join the shipbuilding bandwagon. "NMPT is also considering setting up a shipbuilding yard. The concept is still at preliminary stage," said a source.
Besides the existing players -- ABG Shipyard and Bharati Shipyard -- the private players set to take a plunge in shipbuilding projects are Adani Group, Pawan Kumar Ruia Group and Larsen&Toubro, envisaging a total investment of more than Rs 10,000 crore.
