Mundra to build shipyard

The port of Mundra, on India?s West coast, is likely to be the location of the first new shipbuilding yard in the country for nearly 30 years. The $230 million project is being funded by the Adani Group and it is hoped that the modern shipbuilding yard will dispel the perception that Indian yards take about four years to build a new ship against less than half a year in other Asian yards. Also, existing shipyards in India can only build ships up to 110,000 DWT and the proposed Mundra yard aims to increase this limit.

The site of this $230 million project has been identified with a 28 acre back-up area. A spokesman for Adani said the work would start by July-August once the monsoon season has finished. Maunsell Australia Pty Ltd has been selected for basic engineering and layout planning and, at a later stage, the project will look for tie-ups on the technical, financial and marketing side.

The proposed yard will have a mix of land berths and wet berths, be equipped with shiplift and fabrication and engineering workshops. The yard will also cater for ship repairing in a major way and will be looking to service vessels from outside the country. With almost no newbuilding slots available in the world until 2008, and an equally tight schedule for ship repairs, Mundra shipyard is looking to make an impact with an internationally competitive infrastructure on a scale that is not yet available in India. The last time India constructed a large shipbuilding facility was the Cochin Shipyard back in 1976.