HSL plans to build large shipyard in A.P. or Orissa

The first Inshore patrol vessel of the Indian Coast Guard 'Rani Abbakka' built by the Hindustan Shipyard Limited being launched by Ms. Harkiran Basra, wife of Mr. S.P.S Basra, the Inspector-General of the Coast Guard, eastern region in Visakhapatnam .A file photo: K.R. Deepak

State-owned, Hindustan Shipyard plans to build a large shipyard to accommodate very large crude carrier ships with an estimated project cost of Rs 3,000-4,000 crore, a top official said.

The proposed shipyard, which will be built on a public-private-partnership model, is expected to receive cabinet approval by the end of this fiscal, HSL’s Chairman and Managing Director, Naresh Kumar told PTI here on the sidelines of SMM India’s shipping trade fair.

“We will be building one shipyard in AP or Orissa. We expect the Cabinet approval for this by the end of this fiscal,” Mr. Kumar said, adding that the shipyard is expected to get operational in three to four years.

Once the project receives cabinet nod, the shipyard will start the process of inviting bidders, he said.

The first phase of project would involve ship repairing while the building VLCC vessels will start in the second phase, he said.

The estimated project cost for the first phase is Rs 1,000 crore.

Presently, Hindustan shipyard has an order book of Rs 2,000 crore, which includes one from Chennai-based Godorth Martin Limited to construct a bulk carrier of 53,000 tonne capacity, expected to be completed by 2012, he said.