Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Ltd (MDL), India’s leading warship builder, has emerged as the only applicant for the anchor shipyard role in Maharashtra’s proposed greenfield shipbuilding cluster at Dighi in Raigad district.
The proposed project is now estimated to cost around Rs 27,500 crore and is being developed by National Shipbuilding & Heavy Industries Park Maharashtra Ltd (NSHIPML), an equal joint venture of the Maharashtra Maritime Board and Mumbai Port Authority.
Under the latest Expression of Interest (EoI), the selected anchor shipyard will be required to invest at least Rs 7,500 crore in developing its facility. It must also demonstrate access to institutional funding and adequate equity or promoter support.
2,000-Acre Maritime Cluster Planned
The Dighi cluster is planned across nearly 2,000 acres, spread over two land parcels with around 2.6 km of waterfront and a 14-metre draft in protected waters along Dighi Creek.
The Maharashtra government is expected to lease the land for 60 years, with the possibility of extending the tenure by mutual agreement. The site, located south of Dighi Port operated by Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd, was selected after the government considered locations including Nandgaon, Dighi and Vijaydurg.
The cluster is envisaged as a plug-and-play industrial ecosystem with shipbuilding, ship repair and ancillary manufacturing facilities. Supporting industries could include engine makers, steel and component manufacturers and suppliers of shipboard machinery and equipment.
Capacity and Infrastructure Requirements
The anchor shipyard will be responsible for financing and developing key facilities such as dry docks, slipways, ship lifts, fabrication areas and utilities. It will also have to achieve a design capacity of at least 0.5 million gross tonnes (GT) annually within 10 years of commissioning.
NSHIPML will develop common maritime and landside infrastructure, lease land and shared assets, attract additional shipyards and ancillary businesses and manage operations and maintenance.
A Techno-Economic Feasibility Study and Detailed Project Report is currently being prepared by Haskoning India Consulting Ltd.
The project is also expected to benefit from the Union government’s Shipbuilding Development Scheme, under which eligible common infrastructure could receive capital assistance. Earlier plans envisaged overall cluster capacity of around 1.2 million GT per year, supporting India’s broader ambition to expand shipbuilding output substantially by 2037.
For MDL, the Dighi location offers proximity to Mumbai, established logistics and procurement networks and industrial belts around Pune and Kolhapur. Its proximity to Dighi Port and the proposed Dighi Smart City could further support the availability of labour, logistics and industrial services.
MDL’s emergence as the sole EoI applicant marks a key step towards advancing Maharashtra’s ambition to establish a large-scale shipbuilding and maritime manufacturing hub at Dighi.
Source: Prop News Time
