Gandhinagar: The Gujarat govt, which is expected to announce a new shipbuilding and repair policy after the local body elections this month, has proposed two new shipbuilding clusters in Chhachhi, Kutch, and Kuchhadi, Porbandar district. The state has set a target of enhancing its shipbuilding capacity to 3 million GT (gross tonnage) by 2047.While the state govt has not announced a new shipbuilding policy in the past 16 years — the last was in 2010 — shipbuilding projects announced over the past two decades have also failed to materialise.“The state has identified two locations for the development of shipbuilding clusters, one in Chhachhi, Kutch, and the other in Kuchhadi, Porbandar. The govt is also in the process of identifying three new locations to develop greenfield shipyards,” a presentation made to the govt on the shipbuilding policy states.The Chhachhi shipbuilding cluster is proposed to cover 990 hectares, with a 6.75-kilometre-long waterfront. The Kuchhadi shipbuilding cluster proposed along the Porbandar district coastline will cover 870 hectares with a waterfront extending 7.06 kilometres, official sources said.However, there has been little progress on the earlier shipbuilding cluster announcements by the govt. Between 2006 and 2009, the Gujarat govt identified about six locations, where shipbuilding clusters could be developed. These included Dahej, Ghogha, Bhavnagar, Pipavav, Veraval and Mandvi. More recently, the govt also planned to increase shipbuilding capacity with four new shipyards and a new shipbuilding cluster near Kandla in the Kutch district.ABG Shipyard, formerly India’s largest private shipyard operating in south Gujarat, stopped operations around 2019 because of various reasons, including a drop in demand for shipbuilding. Alcock Ashdown (Gujarat) Ltd, a state-run shipbuilding firm, also shut down its operations in 2013 due to mounting losses and project delays.GMB officials involved in policy drafting said the govt is optimistic about private players investing in shipbuilding as yards in the world’s biggest ship suppliers — China, Japan and Korea — are saturated and unable to take more orders for the next 10 years.“Moreover, no financial incentive was given in the 2010 policy. However, we have not yet decided to develop the common infrastructure needed for the shipyard, in addition to a slew of other financial incentives. We are looking to have a plug-and-play model,” a senior official told TOI.At present, Gujarat has three operational shipbuilding facilities in Pipavav (Swan Group), Bhavnagar (Modest Infrastructure), and Kalodara, Bharuch (Shoft).The official said out of the nearly Rs 70,000 crore fund for the maritime sector, the central govt has allocated Rs 28,000 crore to promote shipbuilding to reduce India’s dependency on foreign vessels.Earlier, the govt had chalked out plans for shipbuilding clusters in Dahej, Ghogha, Bhavnagar, Pipavav, Veraval, and Mandvi. But the plans were dubbed too ambitious.Deendayal Port Trust (DPT), Kandla, also had to scale down its mega shipbuilding cluster concept, which was conceptualised in 2024, after a poor response to the bid, with only one company expressing interest.
