Kolkata: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on August 23 carried out the Bhumi Pujan for five expansion projects of Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers Limited (GRSE) and Yantra India Limited (YIL), involving a combined investment of nearly ₹3,500 crore.
The projects include three GRSE facilities at Kidderpore in Kolkata, Shalimar in Howrah and Raichak in South 24-Parganas, along with two YIL projects at the Metal and Steel Factory in Ishapore.
GRSE plans to invest more than ₹2,500 crore to develop its 32-acre Raichak property into a major shipbuilding hub. The facility will be capable of constructing warships up to 200 metres long and commercial vessels of up to 60,000 tonnes deadweight capacity.
The Raichak project will include a 200-metre dry dock, a 200-metre slipway, a 200-metre ship-launching pad, two jetties and facilities for block fabrication, hull repairs and other shipyard operations. Rajnath Singh said the facility would enable GRSE to bid for construction of next-generation destroyers and other larger warships.
GRSE will also invest nearly ₹100 crore to redevelop the four-acre Timber Pond facility at Shalimar for the construction and repair of medium-sized vessels. Another approximately ₹70 crore will be invested at the Damodar facility at Kidderpore Docks for repairing medium-sized vessels and constructing electric ferries and other small craft.
The two YIL projects at the Metal and Steel Factory in Ishapore involve a combined investment of more than ₹750 crore and are aimed at strengthening domestic production of critical forgings for defence, railways and strategic sectors.
One of the projects involves setting up a 3,000-ton Heavy Duty Hydraulic Open Die Forging Press at an investment of ₹277.59 crore. The new press will replace the existing 2,650-ton press, which has been in operation since 1976, and is scheduled to be completed within 26 months.
The second project is a Radial Forging Plant being developed at an outlay of ₹473.84 crore with an execution timeline of 30 months. It will manufacture products including super-alloy forgings, hollow tubes for aerial bombs, components for future ordnance systems, high-strength railway axles and nuclear reactor components.
Rajnath Singh said the expansion projects would strengthen India’s defence manufacturing and shipbuilding capabilities while creating employment opportunities and supporting MSMEs and allied industries.
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