Kolkata-based state-run shipbuilder Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers Ltd (GRSE) is set to play a larger role in India’s shipbuilding sector, with new greenfield facilities planned in Gujarat and West Bengal.
The Ministry of Defence-controlled shipyard will sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Deendayal Port Authority (DPA) on September 20 to set up a greenfield facility at Kandla in Gujarat’s Kutch district. The proposed shipyard will be located on 2,000 acres of land owned by DPA, which has been earmarked for the development of an integrated shipbuilding cluster with private investments.
DPA had earlier floated a tender to develop a shipyard capable of constructing very large crude carriers (VLCCs) or oil supertankers. However, the process was scrapped after it attracted only a single bid from Pune-based Accurate Industrial Controls Pvt Ltd, backed by Korea Maritime Consultants Co. Ltd (KOMAC). The project is currently being restructured, with GRSE now stepping in as a key partner.
In Gujarat, GRSE will also ink an MoU with Modest Infrastructure Pvt Ltd, part of the Dempo Group, to develop a new shipyard at Ratanpar in Bhavnagar district. Modest Infrastructure already operates a shipbuilding and repair facility at Bhavnagar Old Port, which can construct medium-sized vessels of up to 6,000 dwt. Its new yard at Ratanpar, on the Gulf of Cambay, will cover 40 acres with a 1.3 km waterfront and will have the capacity to build vessels up to 45,000 dwt.
In West Bengal, GRSE will partner with the Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port Authority to develop a greenfield facility at Raichak in South 24 Parganas district.
Further, GRSE will sign an MoU with Shipping Corporation of India Ltd (SCI) for building ships for the state-run carrier, marking SCI’s first domestic shipbuilding order in a decade.
Additionally, GRSE will collaborate with the Indian Port Rail & Ropeway Corporation Ltd (IPRCL) for the development of green tugs, in line with India’s push for sustainable and eco-friendly shipping solutions.
