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greenfield shipbuilding cluster is a location developed as a plug-and-play infrastructure to host a comprehensive shipbuilding and repair ecosystem.
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MUMBAI: Keralam Chief Minister VD Satheesan ’s revelation that the Tata Group has applied for approval to invest ₹10 ,000 crore in a shipbuilding yard in the state and his government expects to clear it within a month appears to have spooked the conglomerate with a senior executive saying there is no such proposal on the table, either in the southern state or elsewhere.While a spokesperson for the Tata Group did not respond to an email sent by ET Infra seeking comment on the proposed investment, an executive said, “Possibly, he (CM Satheesan) is either ill-informed or under too much pressure to show results” since taking over the reins of the state hardly two months ago after securing a majority in the assembly polls.“I saw the video of the Bloomberg interview and wonder if the CM even intended to say what he said,” the executive said.“Even for a politician, it would seem way too much of an exaggeration unless he knows something that none of us know,” the executive said, asking not to be named because he is not authorised to speak to the media.With shipbuilding in focus after the Union Cabinet approved a ₹69,725 crore package last year to crank up the industry to one of the top five globally by 2047, coastal states such as Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Odisha have taken the lead to host the 3-4 greenfield mega shipbuilding clusters planned by the government.Of the ₹69,725 crore approved by the Cabinet, a corpus of ₹19,989 crore have been earmarked for a Shipbuilding Development Scheme (SbDS) which included ₹9,930 crore for funding greenfield shipbuilding clusters.The Shipbuilding Development Scheme will provide 100 per cent capital assistance in the form of a grant for eligible components of greenfield shipbuilding clusters such as breakwaters/tide independent basins/wave breakers, channel and basin development, land reclamation, area grading, regional shipbuilding capability development centres, common maritime assets (barges, floating cranes etc), internal infrastructure, utilities and land development. greenfield shipbuilding cluster is a location developed as a plug-and-play infrastructure to host a comprehensive shipbuilding and repair ecosystem. Each shipbuilding cluster will comprise a waterfront of some 2 km and landside area of about 2,000 acres, which includes 1,000 acres each for shipyards and ancillary industries, internal and social infrastructure and common facilities, per the guidelines framed by the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways for implementing the scheme.Ancillary industries include engine manufacturing, steel and component fabrication, suppliers of shipboard machinery, equipment, systems and other allied industrial units that support the shipbuilding and repair process and enhance the overall value chain.The land parcel earmarked for the proposed greenfield shipbuilding cluster has to be transferred to the greenfield shipbuilding cluster special purpose vehicle (SPV) by the respective state governments at ₹1, according to the guidelines. In cases where government land is not available, it may be acquired by the state government at its own cost.Shipbuilding industry sources said that it is difficult to find a suitable 2 km waterfront along with 2,000 acres in Keralam for developing a greenfield shipyard of the size and investment that fits into what CM Satheesan claimed the Tata Group was looking at.The greenfield shipbuilding cluster planned by the Union government will have one or more large shipyard(s) with a total cluster capacity of about 1.2 million Gross Tonnage (GT) per annum.The SPV should secure investment commitments from one or more anchor shipyard(s) to set up shipbuilding facilities within the greenfield shipbuilding cluster. At least one of the anchor shipyard(s) should have a design capacity of at least 0.5 million Gross Tonnage (GT) per annum, which has to be achieved within ten years from the date of commissioning of the shipyard.Keralam has neither pitched to host a greenfield shipbuilding cluster nor has it done any preparatory work in this regard such as identifying potential locations and preparing a Detailed Project Report (DPR), unlike other coastal states that have moved far ahead on these key aspects.Hence, Chief Minister Satheesan’s claim involving one of India’s top business groups appears to be an exercise aimed more at removing doubts among potential investors about his government’s stance on attracting investments into Kerala, against the backdrop of the controversy stirred by Adani Group’s decision to sell a 49 per cent stake in Vizhinjam International Container Transhipment Port to a unit of Mediterranean Shipping Company S A, the world’s biggest container line, for $1.397 billion.
