Andhra Pradesh clears Rs 29,253 Crore Dugarajapatnam Port and Mega Shipbuilding Cluster under New SPV

AMARAVATHI: The Andhra Pradesh government has approved the formation of National Shipbuilding and Heavy Industries Park Andhra Pradesh Limited (NSHIP-AP Ltd.) as a Special Purpose Vehicle to spearhead the development of a Rs 29,253 crore greenfield port and National Mega Shipbuilding Cluster at Dugarajapatnam in Tirupati district.

The proposed entity will be incorporated under the Companies Act, 2013 as a 50:50 joint venture between the Andhra Pradesh Maritime Board (APMB) and the Visakhapatnam Port Authority (VPA), representing the Government of India.

The move marks a significant step towards operationalising one of the country’s most ambitious maritime manufacturing projects.

Envisioned as India’s first National Mega Shipbuilding Cluster, the project aligns with the Centre’s Maritime India Vision 2030 and Maritime Amrit Kaal Vision 2047, which aim to dramatically expand domestic shipbuilding capacity.

National targets include scaling output from roughly 0.01 million gross tonnage (GT) per annum to 4.5 million GT annually by 2047, positioning India among the world’s top five shipbuilding nations.

Spread across nearly 2,000 acres, the Dugarajapatnam cluster is designed to achieve a capacity of around 1.2 million GT per annum under the Shipbuilding Development Scheme.

Plans include an anchor shipyard with a projected annual capacity of 0.5 million GT within a decade of commissioning, along with ship repair facilities, heavy engineering units, dry docks, ship lifts and outfitting berths.

NSHIP-AP Ltd. will oversee dredging, waterfront infrastructure, utilities and internal logistics systems, while allocating land to shipyards and ancillary industries. Projects are expected to be implemented through public-private partnerships, concession agreements and lease models.