Cochin to build new facilities

India’s shipbuilding industry is expanding to become a global ship repair hub and build most of the small and medium-size vessels for deployment in the country’s upgraded waterways or river-highways.

Shipping Minister Nitin Gadkari has initiated the big expansion by laying the foundation stone for a Rs 970-crore International Ship Repair Facility (ISRF) for Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL).

The facility is being built at Cochin Port Trust where CSL has leased out a 40-acre plot for the project.at Cochin

Cochin is all set to become a global ship repair hub, said Gadkari at the foundation stone laying ceremony on 17 Nov 2017.

The International Ship Repair facility will be a State of the Art facility that can handle a major chunk of small and medium sized vessels plying in India.

CSL will set up a ship lift system of size 130 m x 25 m with lifting capacity of 6,000 tonnes and 6 work stations.

The facility will repair up to 85 vessels, almost double the ship repair capacity at CSL.

Pointing out that this facility will help boost India’s share in commercial ship repair market, Gadkari also inaugurated a conference on ‘Build The Ship – 2017’ which was organized by the Shipping Ministry.

The conference deliberated on recommendations of a study on growth strategies for Shipbuilding, Ship Design, Ship Repair and Marine Ancillaries in India. fii-news.com