Kolkata: Public sector shipbuilder Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE) Limited will invest more than Rs 2,600 crore in West Bengal to develop and upgrade three shipbuilding facilities, its Chairman and Managing Director Commodore P.R. Hari (Retd.) said on Sunday.
In an exclusive interaction with IANS, Hari said the company plans to invest around Rs 2,670 crore across three facilities in the state as part of its expansion programme.
The investment will include the development of a new standalone shipyard at Raichak in South 24 Parganas district, where GRSE plans to build large vessels.
The company will also upgrade the infrastructure at its existing facilities in Kolkata and Shalimar in Howrah. One of these facilities will be used for the construction of medium- and small-sized ships, while the other will focus on boats, ferries and S-type vessels.
On India’s warship-building capabilities, Hari said the country has already achieved self-reliance in the sector. India has built around 270 warships so far, with GRSE accounting for nearly 40 per cent of them.
He said GRSE has achieved up to 80 per cent indigenisation in its last three projects and is working to raise the level further by developing the remaining critical components within the country.
Hari also highlighted the improvement in the turnaround time for shipbuilding projects. While such projects earlier took five to 10 years to complete, the company has significantly accelerated execution in recent years.
“The last two projects we delivered were completed ahead of schedule,” he said.
According to Hari, GRSE’s mature design capabilities have also helped the company respond more efficiently to technological changes. The company can incorporate new technologies into its designs and upgrade vessels before delivering them to customers, he said.
Hari described GRSE as the largest heavy engineering unit in West Bengal and credited the support of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh for the company’s growth and expansion.
“Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has always stood by us and we are grateful to him,” he said.
Since 2019, GRSE has launched 24 warships and delivered 22 of them, Hari said. The company currently has the capability to build 28 ships of different classes simultaneously.
Once the new facilities become operational, GRSE’s capacity will increase to 32 platforms, strengthening its ability to undertake multiple shipbuilding programmes simultaneously.
(IANS)
