Alcock Ashdown bags Norway vessel contract

Alcock Ashdown Gujarat (AAGL), Chanch Yard bagged contract to construct eight oil tanker vessels of 12,800 tonne of over Rs 600 crore for Cyprus-based sea tanker management company of Frontline Group, Norway.

Debashish Bir, managing director AAGL said, "Currently, we have contract for construction of 22 vessels priced at Rs 1,400 crore and have been serving clients including Kolkata-based Asianol Shipping, Singapore-based Gudami International and Mumbai-based M Pallonji & Co. till 2004-05."

The contract is one of the largest.

Apart from this, we have similar contract to construct eight tanker vessels of 8,800 tonne by a Norwegian group and three work boats or barges for Mumbai-based Dolphin Group, he said.

Per Reinboth, commercial counsellor of Royal Norwegian Embassay based at New Delhi, said, "Like India, the turnover of our ship building business is estimated at around Rs 1,50,000 crore per annum. Keeping in view the historic facts of the maritime tradition of Gujarat, we have entered in a business relationship."

Jens Martin A Jensen, commercial director of the Frontline Group said their experience with the Indian ship building industry has been satisfactory and as a result this contract was given to AAGL.

The state government will revive the 5,000 year old maritime tradition of Gujarat along with the ship building and ship repairing activities to make the state a shipping hub.

"We are looking for three-fold development of the coastal region in the state which would primarily constitute "� ship building, repairing and breaking activities. Alang would be stronger once again if the activities flourish," chief minister Narendra Modi said at the launch of steel cutting tankers to be constructed at AAGL on Tuesday.

Modi said the state is expected to achieve double-digit growth rate and have identified revival of maritime activities as one of the key performance indicators as it would contribute heavily in the economic prosperity of the state.

The CM stressed the need to focus localisation of development, "We have planned 11 Special Economic Zones (SEZs) on the coastline of Gujarat, each one having their own airports, hotels, business clusters etc.

Apart from helping the economic prosperity of the nation, it would also generate equal employment opportunity for the local masses," Modi said.