Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the National Shipbuilding and Heavy Industries Park–Andhra Pradesh (NSHIP-AP) to develop a greenfield shipyard at Dugarajapatnam in Andhra Pradesh’s Tirupati district.
Under the MoU, MDL envisages an investment of around ₹15,000 crore over the next five to seven years, subject to the required approvals and clearances. MDL will serve as the anchor shipyard for the proposed Dugarajapatnam shipbuilding cluster.
The proposed shipyard will have a design capacity of 1.2 million gross tonnes per year, with provision for expansion depending on market requirements. The facility is planned to build commercial vessels, including tankers, bulk carriers, container ships, LNG carriers and other specialised vessels.
The project is expected to generate approximately 45,000 direct and indirect employment opportunities in Andhra Pradesh. The wider ecosystem is also expected to support activities linked to shipbuilding, marine engineering, manufacturing, logistics and other allied industries.
The Dugarajapatnam shipbuilding cluster is being developed under the Government of India’s Shipbuilding Development Scheme (SbDS). NSHIP-AP is a special purpose vehicle formed jointly by the Andhra Pradesh Maritime Board and Visakhapatnam Port Authority.
According to the project details released on September 18, the proposed shipbuilding and ship-repair yard is part of a larger shipbuilding-cum-port cluster at Dugarajapatnam. The techno-economic feasibility report estimates the shipbuilding and ship-repair yard at approximately ₹29,254 crore, while the proposed port is estimated at ₹9,513 crore. The port is proposed to be developed by the Government of India.
The MoU was signed in the presence of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu by MDL Chairman and Managing Director Captain Jagmohan (Retd.) and NSHIP-AP Managing Director Praveen Adhithya C.V.
The proposed project marks MDL’s planned expansion into large-scale commercial shipbuilding, alongside its established activities as a defence shipbuilder. The company said the facility is intended to serve both domestic and international markets.
