L&T reiterates interest in shipbuilding ventures

Larsen & Toubro, the engineering major, on Wednesday said it was keen on participating in any public-private-partnership (PPP) project in the country's shipbuilding sector.

Speaking to journalists here on the sidelines of the Confederation of Indian Industry infrastructure conference, SumInfra 2011, the company’s president (operations), J P Nayak, noted the central government had decided to take the initiative of inviting private sector shipyards to join hands with two government shipyards.

“They (Centre) have come out with an expression of interest (EoI) to invite private participation. Every single private shipyard will be interested in evaluating these opportunities that are available. We (L&T) will also evaluate such opportunities. If it is a good one, we will go forward and give a plan, “ Nayak said.

Yesterday, Business Standard had reported that L&T was set to partner government-owned Hindustan Shipyard, as the defence ministry had recommended the company as the preferred partner. And, that the company had emerged the strongest contender because of its experience in building submarines, and its location on the same coastline as Hindustan Shipyard.

L&T Shipbuilding Ltd, a joint venture between L&T and the Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation (Tidco), is already developing a shipyard-cum-port complex at Kattupalli in Tamil Nadu that is expected to go on stream by January 2012.

“The needs of the country are very vast, “ said Nayak. “We have a 7,500-km coastline and security concerns are there. There is a lot of development taking place and we have to make sure the country is properly guarded. All our naval ships are getting old and need to be replaced. So, there is a big programme that the Indian Navy has got for building up infrastructure. Therefore, there is a need for participation of the private sector. “