GRSE gears up for bagging export orders

State-run ship maker Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers (GRSE) is gearing up to bag export orders through both competitive bidding process as well as on a nomination basis, an official said on Wednesday.

"We are having dialogue at B2B (business to business) and G2G (government to government) level. We are actively looking at exports and our focus would be on warship construction," its Chairman and Managing Director Rear Admiral (retd.) V.K. Saxena said.

According to him, the shipbuilder is looking to tap South East and West Asian and Latin American markets to bag overseas orders.

Incidentally, the company had exported one marine warship to Mauritius in 2014 and recently, emerged as a successful bidder in the competitive bidding process for two major projects -- four large survey vessels and anti-submarine warfare (ASW) shallow water corvettes for the Indian Navy.

It also emerged as the lower bidder (L1) for building an ocean-going passenger ferry for Guyana in South America and it was hopeful of bagging the order soon, he said.

The company is "well placed" to get into any kind of competitive bidding process, both in India and overseas, Saxena said at the announcement of Initial Public Offer.

The central government is divesting around 25 per cent stake in the defence PSU through an initial public offer of shares and around Rs 335-345 crore at a price band of Rs 115-118 per equity share is expected to be raised.

The company proposed to open the offer on September 24 and it is to be closed on September 26.

The Mini Ratna company's order book, presently, stands at Rs 20,300 crore, comprising of four projects, three for the navy and one for the Coast Guard, totalling 13 ships.

Its shipbuilding division contributes about 90 per cent of the company's revenue though the engineering major manufactures deck machinery items, pre-fabricated portable steel bridges and marine pumps.

The company is also exploring the possibility of a brownfield expansion at the Rajabagan Dockyard in the city, which currently builds small and medium vessels.

The expansion project, which might commence by the middle of 2019, would likely to entail an investment of around Rs 175-200 crore as per initial estimates, Saxena added.

--IANS

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