HSL proposes greenfield shipyard in Andhra Pradesh under Maritime Amrit Kaal Vision
State-run Hindustan Shipyard Limited has proposed setting up a greenfield shipyard in Andhra Pradesh as part of its expansion plans under the Centre’s Maritime Amrit Kaal Vision 2047, company officials said.
The proposal was discussed during a meeting between HSL Chairman and Managing Director Rear Admiral Chandrasekharan Raghuram and Andhra Pradesh Governor S. Abdul Nazeer at Raj Bhavan, where the focus was on strengthening India’s maritime self-reliance and expanding domestic shipbuilding capacity.
During the interaction, Rear Admiral Raghuram briefed the Governor on HSL’s operational turnaround and outlined the company’s expansion plans aligned with the Maritime Amrit Kaal Vision 2047.
According to HSL officials, Machilipatnam and Dugarajapatnam have been identified as the potential locations for the proposed facility. “As per the Centre’s directives, the greenfield shipyard is a proposal by HSL as part of the company’s expansion and exploration plans,” an HSL official said.
HSL sources said the proposed shipyard is intended to address India’s shipbuilding capacity constraints by creating modern infrastructure capable of constructing commercial ships, green-energy vessels, and high-capacity fleet support ships.
India currently accounts for less than 1 per cent of global shipbuilding output. Under the Maritime Amrit Kaal Vision 2047, the Union government aims to place India among the world’s top five shipbuilding nations by increasing domestic shipbuilding capacity to 4.5 million gross tonnage.
Officials said expanding domestic shipbuilding is also important to reduce dependence on foreign-flagged vessels, which currently carry nearly 95 per cent of India’s cargo by volume.
Established in 1941 in Visakhapatnam, HSL is the only defence public sector shipyard on India’s eastern seaboard. Other major shipyards in the country include Cochin Shipyard Limited, Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited, Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers, Goa Shipyard Limited, and L&T Shipbuilding’s facility at Kattupalli.
If approved, the proposed greenfield shipyard is expected to strengthen Andhra Pradesh’s position as a maritime and shipbuilding hub while contributing to the Centre’s goal of achieving greater self-reliance in the sector.