The public sector Cochin Shipyard Ltd is looking at making further investments in Kochi by way of setting up large block making facilities required for the construction of ships.
The area being looked at for the Block Fabrication Facility (BFF) is at Vallarpadam near the International Container Transhipment Terminal where the company has proposed an investment of around ₹3000 crore for making steel blocks. The commissioning of the facility as part of brown field expansion is expected to be in 40 months after receiving the necessary approvals, Madhu S.Nair, Chairman and Managing Director said.
Steel blocks will be pre-outfitted, painted and finished and will be transported as large blocks to the new drydock set up at the Cochin Shipyard. The new ships will be constructed at the new drydock. The facility will have the capacity to build one lakh tonnes of steel blocks, which is a vital part in the construction of ships. The faster availability of steel blocks will enable the yard to expedite the construction of ships faster, he said.
“We are yet to finalize on the project as the land belongs to Cochin Port and a small part owned by Kerala Government”, he added.
After the signing of six LNG fuelled ships of CMA CGM, the CMD said the yard is in discussion with many other ship owners and trying to get more orders. There is a ship building expansion support available from the Government for both greenfield and brownfield projects and the yard is expected to tap the funding possibilities, he added.
On the ensuing India Maritime Week 2025 to be held in Mumbai, he said the event is happening in the background announcing almost 70,000 crore funding policies aimed at making the country in the top 10 in the world in ship building by 2030 and into the top 5 by 2047. There is going to be a very large engagement where multiple stakeholders will come together and the yard is showcasing its facilities in the meet.
