Advertisement
The Gulf conflict has disrupted global supply chains, pushed...
REITs have changed the way commercial real estate is owned a...
What does it take to preserve a real estate legacy while bui...
What really powers the cloud? Behind every Google search, A...
A lot of what defines a home isn’t visible at handover. I...
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has laid the foundation stone for five brownfield expansion projects of Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE) and Yantra India Limited (YIL) in West Bengal, involving nearly INR 3,500 crore. The projects span shipbuilding and repair facilities at Kidderpore, Shalimar and Raichak, along with advanced metallurgical facilities at Ishapore. The investments are aimed at increasing defence production capacity, strengthening domestic supply chains and creating employment opportunities. The projects are also expected to support ancillary industries, particularly MSMEs, while strengthening West Bengal’s industrial ecosystem and India’s ambitions in shipbuilding and defence manufacturing.
West Bengal is set to receive a major boost to its defence manufacturing and industrial infrastructure with five brownfield expansion projects of Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE) and Yantra India Limited (YIL), involving an investment of nearly INR 3,500 crore.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh virtually laid the foundation stone for the projects from Kolkata on August 23, in the presence of West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari. The projects are spread across Kolkata, Howrah, South 24-Parganas and Ishapore and are designed to expand shipbuilding, ship repair and advanced manufacturing capabilities in the state.
Three of the projects belong to GRSE, with facilities planned at Kidderpore in Kolkata, Shalimar in Howrah and Raichak in South 24-Parganas. The expansion will allow the defence shipyard to increase its capacity for constructing and refitting warships, while also supporting the construction and repair of small and medium-sized commercial vessels.
The largest component is the proposed shipbuilding facility at Raichak. GRSE has secured a 32-acre riverside property there, featuring a 356-metre waterfront, an existing 96-metre jetty and a water depth of around 8-10 metres. The company plans to invest more than INR 2,500 crore in developing the site into a shipbuilding hub.
The Raichak facility is expected to support construction of warships up to 200 metres long and commercial vessels of up to 60,000 tonnes deadweight. Its planned infrastructure includes a 200-metre dry dock, a 200-metre slipway, a ship-launching pad and two jetties, along with block fabrication, repair and administrative facilities.
At Shalimar, GRSE plans to invest nearly INR 100 crore to revive the four-acre Timber Pond facility. The project involves restoring an existing dry dock, creating a new slipway and adding supporting shipbuilding and repair infrastructure. At Kidderpore, the company plans to invest about INR 70 crore in the Damodar facility for medium-sized vessel repairs and the construction of electric ferries and other small craft.
The remaining two projects are being undertaken by YIL at its Metal and Steel Factory in Ishapore, with a combined investment exceeding INR 750 crore. They will modernise metallurgical production and support the manufacture of components for defence, railways and other strategic sectors.
One project involves a 3,000-tonne hydraulic open-die forging press that will replace equipment dating back to 1976. The second is a radial forging plant with an investment of INR 473.84 crore, designed to manufacture specialised forgings, hollow tubes, railway axles and components for strategic applications.
The expansion is intended to reduce dependence on imported components and strengthen domestic production capabilities. The YIL facilities will incorporate Industry 4.0 technologies and energy-efficient systems, supporting higher precision and modern manufacturing processes.
The projects are also expected to create employment and generate business opportunities for ancillary industries, particularly micro, small and medium enterprises. This could widen the economic impact of the investments beyond the core defence facilities and support the development of associated industrial supply chains in West Bengal.
For GRSE, the investments come as India seeks to expand its domestic shipbuilding capacity and capture a larger share of the global maritime market. Rajnath Singh said India has an opportunity to emerge as a major global shipbuilding hub as traditional shipbuilding nations face capacity constraints.
The five projects therefore combine defence capacity expansion with wider industrial development, potentially strengthening West Bengal's position in shipbuilding, engineering and strategic manufacturing.
Sources: PIB
Advertisement
Facebook
Whatsapp
