Cochin Shipyard has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering for a long-term strategic collaboration in shipbuilding.
In an exchange filing, the public sector company said that its 310-metre new dry dock will be utilised to construct large vessels such as tankers, container ships, and bulk carriers. The company is targeting to manufacture up to six vessels annually under the MoU with the South Korean company.
Investment plans
Cochin Shipyard will set up a dedicated Block Fabrication Facility at Kochi on approximately 80 acres.
The company added that the facility will be set up through an investment of about Rs 3,700 crore. Once completed, it will have an annual capacity of 1,20,000 MT. The company added that the project is expected to generate around 2,000 direct jobs and 2X to 5X indirect employment in sectors such as logistics, MSMEs, supply and chain.
MoU with TN Guidance
Furthermore, Cochin Shipyard stated that it signed a second MoU with Guidance, the nodal agency of the Government of Tamil Nadu. The company said that it falls in line with the Government of India’s vision for developing shipbuilding clusters.
The company added that as part of its long-term growth strategy, it is considering a greenfield investment of about Rs 15,000 crore to establish a state-of-the-art shipyard in Tamil Nadu in collaboration with a Korean partner. In its first phase, the project is expected to create nearly 10,000 direct and indirect jobs. The project may also include a modern ship repair facility.