Private shipyards knock on govt door for Rs 50-billion working capital

They also asked the government to set up an empowered shipbuilding division within the shipping ministry to ensure higher utilisation of capacity and liberalisation of tender terms

Twenty-two private shipyards in the country have asked the government to infuse Rs 50 billion in working capital in order to keep the industry afloat. The domestic shipyard industry has about Rs 250 billion of stressed loans. Two big players, Bharati Shipyard and ABG Shipyard, are on the insolvency route.

The private shipyards, including those belonging to Larsen & Toubro (L&T)  and Reliance, under the banner of the Shipyard Association of India (SAI) met Union Minister of Shipping and Ports Nitin Gadkari on Monday.

Among their various demands, one was setting up of a shipbuilding development fund of Rs 150