Strategic opportunity: Mazagon-CDPLC deal boosts India's maritime influence

This strategic deal between MDSL and CDPLC was the outcome of extensive discussion between Indian and Sri Lankan officials

The announcement that state-owned Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Ltd (MDSL) will acquire a controlling stake in Colombo Dockyard PLC (CDPLC) in a deal worth $53 million must be seen as an important milestone in strengthening India’s maritime influence in a key corridor in the Indian Ocean Region. Mumbai-based MDSL, which builds warships and submarines for the Indian Navy and platforms and vessels for offshore oil drilling, is India’s largest defence shipyard and a designated Navratna company. Its proposed acquisition of the loss-making CDPLC, which is Sri Lanka’s leading ship-building and repair facility, will expand MDSL’s portfolio, with the added benefit of