Amaravati, September 18: Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL) plans to invest around ₹15,000 crore over the next five to seven years to develop a greenfield shipyard at Dugarajapatnam in Andhra Pradesh, with the project expected to generate around 45,000 direct and indirect jobs.
The Navratna defence public sector undertaking has signed a memorandum of understanding with National Shipbuilding and Heavy Industries Park-AP (NSHIP-AP) for development of the facility. The proposed investment will be subject to necessary approvals and clearances.
The shipyard is planned with a design capacity of 1.2 million Gross Tonnage (GT) per annum, with scope for further expansion depending on market requirements.
The facility is expected to build commercial vessels including tankers, bulk carriers, container ships, LNG carriers and other large specialised vessels.
MDL has been identified as the anchor shipyard for the proposed Dugarajapatnam shipbuilding-cum-port cluster. NSHIP-AP is a special purpose vehicle jointly formed by the Andhra Pradesh Maritime Board and Visakhapatnam Port Authority.
According to the techno-economic feasibility report for the wider project, the shipbuilding and ship-repair yard is estimated to cost around ₹29,254 crore, while the proposed port component is estimated at ₹9,513 crore. The port is proposed to be developed by the central government.
MDL Chairman and Managing Director Capt Jagmohan said Dugarajapatnam has the scale and maritime potential to support development of a globally competitive shipyard serving domestic and international markets.
The project is also expected to support ancillary industries across shipbuilding, marine engineering, manufacturing and logistics as India looks to expand domestic commercial shipbuilding capacity.
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