The Centre has granted in-principle approval to the proposed ₹30,000-crore greenfield shipbuilding cluster at Dugarajapatnam in Andhra Pradesh’s Tirupati district. The project, announced by Union Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal at the 31st CII Partnership Summit in Visakhapatnam on November 12, is expected to establish a major shipbuilding and maritime manufacturing hub on India’s east coast, with a targeted annual capacity of 1.2 million gross tonnes (GT).
Spread across 3,488 acres, Dugarajapatnam is the largest among the five greenfield shipbuilding clusters shortlisted under the National Shipbuilding Mission. The site has approximately 2.1 km of waterfront, with a planned water depth of 13 to 15 metres following dredging. Its location along the Visakhapatnam-Chennai Industrial Corridor is expected to support connectivity with regional ports, industrial centres and logistics networks.
The proposed cluster will accommodate an anchor shipyard, ship repair facilities and heavy engineering units. Its planned marine infrastructure includes dry docks, ship lifts, outfitting berths and common facilities to support shipbuilding operations. The cluster-wide capacity target is 1.2 million GT annually, while the scheme requires at least one anchor shipyard to achieve a design capacity of 500,000 GT per annum within 10 years of commissioning.
The Andhra Pradesh Maritime Board (APMB) and Visakhapatnam Port Authority (VPA) have formed a 50:50 joint venture, National Shipbuilding and Heavy Industries Park Andhra Pradesh Limited (NSHIP-AP), to develop the project. The special purpose vehicle will oversee investor engagement, land-related due diligence and discussions with prospective anchor shipyard operators. It will also coordinate the development of shared infrastructure, including dredging, waterfront facilities, internal logistics and utilities, and facilitate land allocation for shipyards and ancillary industries.
The revised techno-economic feasibility report is currently under review by the Directorate General of Maritime Administration, while land acquisition is progressing. Discussions with prospective anchor shipyards are also underway. An anchor investor has not yet been formally selected, and the project is at the preparatory stage.
The Dugarajapatnam cluster is one of five locations to receive in-principle approval under the National Shipbuilding Mission. The other proposed sites are Thoothukudi in Tamil Nadu, Kucchadi in Gujarat, Dighi in Maharashtra and Kendrapara in Odisha.
Sonowal invited global shipbuilders, technology companies, equipment manufacturers and maritime investors to participate in the development of Andhra Pradesh’s shipbuilding ecosystem. He said the Centre had allocated ₹70,000 crore in financing support for shipbuilding and other maritime activities, creating opportunities for domestic and international investment.
The proposed cluster forms part of India’s broader ambition to become one of the world’s leading shipbuilding nations and strengthen domestic capabilities in ship construction, repair and heavy marine engineering.