 "Cochin Shipyard facility")
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has given its nod for construction of a new dry dock within the existing premises of Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL) at an estimated cost of Rs 1799 crore to augment the shipbuilding and repair capacity of the country.
The augmentation will help Cochin Shipyard to tap the market potential of building specialised and technologically advanced large vessels such as liquefied natural gas (LNG) vessels, indigenous aircraft carriers of higher capacity, jack up rigs, drill ships, large dredgers and repairing of offshore platforms and larger vessels. This big sized dry dock is a critical requirement of CSL to promote ship building and is a step in the direction of Make in India initiative of the government.
There would be no financial outgo from the government on account of the construction of new dry dock as the expenditure of Rs 1799 crore will be funded through internal and extra budgetary resources (IEBR) of Cochin Shipyard and the funding requirements are fully tied up.
“It may be noted that ship building and ship repair is a labour intensive industry, having a multiplier effect on employment generation and thereby help in the process of nation-building by way of socio-economic development and growth of manufacturing sector in the country. Apart from direct employment of 300 personnel, about 2000 personnel would be indirectly employed when the project becomes fully operational,” said a government press release.
