The Cochin Shipyard is awaiting environmental clearance for the proposed international ship-repair facility on the Cochin Port premises. The detailed project report (DPR) is the in the final stages of preparation, says Commodore (retd) K. Subramaniam, chairman and managing director of the profit-making public sector yard.
“We have applied for environmental impact assessment (EIA) clearance and are hopeful of getting it as early as possible. While the exact quantum of investment for the facility would only be clear when the DPR is finalised, we are looking at a ballpark figure of Rs. 500 crore,” he said during an interaction with The Hindu on Friday. The ship-repair facility will have a shiplift and six repair berths. The CSL has been consistently raking in Rs. 250 crore from ship-repair business, doing rather well despite a regressive taxation regime and procedural problems. While the shipbuilding industry worldwide has yet to come out of the trough, ship-repair is an evergreen business, he maintains.
Meanwhile, the yard’s proposed large dry dock—at least 300m long and 75m wide—will be up in three-and-a-half years. “Expected to cost Rs 1,300 crore, the dry-dock in the north estate of the yard campus at Thevara will be able to take any kind of vessel, including the 65,000-tonne future aircraft carrier being planned by the Navy.
“The firm dimensions of the dock are still being worked out. It is just a matter of details, but it will be adequate to take any of those large ships. However, we are cautious in our approach as we don’t want to create an asset that doesn’t cater for growth in the next 20 years or so,” said Cmde Subramaniam.
He said the yard is keen to bag more defence orders, including those for construction of conventional submarines under the Navy’s forthcoming Project 75-I. The CSL has just completed fabrication work of INS Vikrant, the maiden indigenous aircraft carrier, which is currently being outfitted. It has so far delivered 10 of the 20 fast patrol vessels it is building for the Coast Guard.
- Large dry dock to be operational in three-and-a-half years
Cochin Shipyard keen to bag more defence orders
