DPA partners with Cochin Shipyard to establish ₹1,750 crore ship-repair hub in Gujarat

GANDHINAGAR : Deendayal Port Authority (DPA) which operates and manages Kandla Port is teaming up with India’s biggest shipbuilding and ship-repair entity, Cochin Shipyard Ltd (CSL), to construct a ship-repair hub on India’s western coast in Gujarat, at a cost of ₹1,750 crore.

“We will be investing ₹700 crore in building an outfitting jetty at Vadinar (in Devbhumi Dwarka district of Gujarat) and civil construction works, while Cochin Shipyard will be putting up two floating docks at the cost of ₹1,050 crore, Of the ₹700 crore, about 50 per cent will be funded by the Sagarmala scheme,” Sushil Kumar Singh, Chairman of DPA said during an interaction .

In India, Cochin Shipyard Ltd had the highest capacity for ship repairing (125,000 DWT or Dead Weight Tonnage), followed by Hindustan Shipyard Ltd.(80,000 DWT) and Goa Shipyard Ltd (4.5 thousand DWT). In 2022-23, 439 ships were repaired in India. “As per our agreement, CSL will conduct the repair activities at this new facility at Vadinar and it will pay a fixed lease rent and a royalty to DPA. This facility will have a capacity to repair 32 vessels annually. A Detailed Project Report (DPR) has already been sent to the Union Ministry for Ports, Shipping and Waterways for further approvals,” Singh added.

DPA has been operating a steel floating dry dock in Kandla since 1984, and it repairs ships. During 2022-23, it repaired about 39 ships at this facility, which is about 100 meters in length and 20 meters in width. Among the 12 major ports in India, Syama Prasad Mukherjee Port at Kolkata has a maximum number of dry docks (five) that can be used for ship repairs. Mumbai Port Trust, Visakhapatnam Port Trust, Paradip Port Trust, and Deendayal Port Authority also have one Dry Dock each.