Cochin Shipyard intends to expand at Cochin Port for Rs 2,000 crore

With international assistance, Cochin Shipyard Ltd. intends to open a new shipbuilding facility in Cochin Port. The program is in line with the industry’s larger drive for capacity growth in the wake of budget recommendations meant to support the industry. To strengthen India’s ship repair capabilities and establish Kochi as a regional maritime hub, Cochin Shipyard has opened an international ship repair facility at Willingdon Island, within Cochin Port, valued at Rs 970 crore. For this expansion, the port authority plans to lease a section of its 150 acres of valuable property to Cochin Shipyard. According to government officials, the proposed shipbuilding facility will be owned by Cochin Shipyard but developed with foreign collaboration. This expansion follows the shipyard’s commissioning of a Rs 1,799 crore dry dock, its third, enabling it to construct large vessels, including LNG carriers, Capesize and Suezmax ships, oil rigs, and semi-submersibles.

Industry analysts highlight the urgency for India to expand its shipbuilding capacity, as leading global players in China, South Korea, and Japan are fully booked until at least 2028. Indian yards are currently focused on defense contracts and niche green vessels for global fleet owners. To meet the Maritime India Vision 2030, domestic shipbuilding capacity must increase from 0.072 million gross tons (GT) to 0.33 million GT by 2030 and further to 11.31 million GT by 2047, according to KPMG.

The government is leveraging land at major and non-major ports to fast-track shipyard development and circumvent land acquisition hurdles. Deendayal Port Authority in Gujarat has floated a tender for leasing 2,000 acres to develop an integrated shipbuilding cluster under the public-private partnership (PPP) model. Andhra Pradesh is also planning shipbuilding facilities at its greenfield and private ports.Cochin Port’s new shipbuilding facility would provide strategic advantages, including easier import of raw materials and streamlined supply chains. The government’s efforts to revitalize the sector have attracted high-level delegations from major shipbuilders in South Korea and Japan, who are exploring investment opportunities.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s recent Budget announcements include a Rs 25,000 crore Maritime Development Fund (MDF), a revamped financial assistance policy for shipbuilding, a credit note scheme for shipbreaking, and an extension of customs duty exemptions on raw materials and ship imports for recycling. India currently holds less than 1% of the global shipbuilding market but aims to break into the top 10 by 2030 and the top 5 by 2047.

Cochin Shipyard has been actively expanding its footprint, acquiring Udupi-based Tebma Shipyards Ltd in 2020 and reviving the state-run Hooghly Dock and Port Engineers Ltd under its wholly owned subsidiary, Hooghly Cochin Shipyard Ltd.