Mazagon Dock signs pact for ₹15,000-crore Dugarajapatnam shipyard
Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Ltd (MDL), the Defence Ministry’s Navratna shipbuilder, on Friday signed an agreement with the Andhra Pradesh government to set up a shipyard at Dugarajapatnam in Tirupati district, marking a major step towards the State’s proposed shipbuilding and port cluster.
MDL plans to invest about ₹15,000 crore over five to seven years in the project, which will have the capacity to build up to 1.2 million gross tonnes of merchant vessels annually. The project is expected to generate about 45,000 direct and indirect jobs, the State government said.
The memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed at the Secretariat in the presence of Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, with the National Shipbuilding and Heavy Industries Park-Andhra Pradesh (NSHIP-AP), a special purpose vehicle jointly owned by the Andhra Pradesh Maritime Board and the Visakhapatnam Port Authority.
The proposed yard will build tankers, bulk carriers, container ships, LNG carriers, and other specialised large vessels for the domestic and export markets. The facility will also have scope for capacity expansion as demand grows.
The project forms part of Andhra Pradesh’s plan to develop a shipbuilding-cum-port cluster at Dugarajapatnam. A techno-economic feasibility report has estimated the cost of the shipbuilding and ship repair yard at ₹29,254 crore, while the proposed port is estimated to cost ₹9,513 crore.
The Centre has approved the port project, while the shipbuilding cluster will come under the Union government’s Shipbuilding Development Scheme. NSHIP-AP has selected MDL as the anchor shipyard.
However, the State government’s release did not spell out how the remaining cost of the shipyard, beyond MDL’s proposed ₹15,000-crore investment, would be funded.
Naidu linked the project to India’s target under the Maritime Amrit Kaal Vision 2047 of becoming one of the world’s top five shipbuilding nations by 2047. “Andhra Pradesh is committed to being at the forefront of this journey by leveraging its long coastline, strategic location, and industrial ecosystem,” he said.
The Chief Minister said the cluster would help position Andhra Pradesh as a major shipbuilding centre and attract ancillary industries, besides creating employment in shipbuilding, marine engineering, manufacturing, and logistics.
MDL Chairman and Managing Director Captain Jagmohan (retd.) said Dugarajapatnam had the scale and maritime potential required for a globally competitive shipyard.
The Andhra Pradesh Maritime Board will provide land and infrastructure, and facilitate the statutory clearances required for the project.
Roads and Buildings Minister B.C. Janardhan Reddy, Andhra Pradesh Maritime Board Chairman Damacharla Satya, Visakhapatnam Port Authority Chairperson Jasmeet Singh Bindra, and senior officials were present at the signing.