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 modern greenfield shipyard at Dugarajapatnam in Andhra Pradesh. The company plans to invest around ₹15,000 crore in the project over the next five to seven years, subject to the required approvals and statutory clearances.
The proposed facility is expected to generate around 45,000 direct and indirect employment opportunities in Andhra Pradesh. MDL, a Navratna Defence Public Sector Undertaking under the Ministry of Defence, has been identified as the anchor shipyard for the proposed Dugarajapatnam shipbuilding cluster.
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. The project is being planned as part of Andhra Pradesh’s broader effort to establish a major shipbuilding and maritime manufacturing hub along its coastline.
The greenfield shipyard will have a design capacity of 1.2 million gross tonnes per year, with provision for expansion depending on future market requirements. The facility is planned to build a range of commercial vessels, including tankers, bulk carriers, container ships, LNG carriers and other specialised large vessels.
The Dugarajapatnam development is envisaged as a larger shipbuilding-cum-port cluster. According to the state’s Techno-Economic Feasibility Report, the estimated cost of the shipbuilding and ship-repair yard is around ₹29,254 crore, while the proposed port has an estimated cost of ₹9,513 crore. The port is proposed to be developed by the Central government.
NSHIP-AP is a special purpose vehicle jointly formed by the Andhra Pradesh Maritime Board and Visakhapatnam Port Authority. The entity has identified MDL as the anchor shipyard for the cluster, which is being developed under the Centre’s Shipbuilding Development Scheme.
The project is expected to create opportunities across a wider maritime ecosystem, including shipbuilding, marine engineering, manufacturing, logistics and allied industries. The development of supporting ancillary industries around the shipyard is also expected to strengthen the industrial base associated with the proposed cluster.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu said the state aims to contribute to India’s ambition of becoming one of the world’s top five shipbuilding nations by 2047. He highlighted the state’s long coastline, strategic location and industrial ecosystem as factors supporting the expansion of the maritime sector.
MDL Chairman and Managing Director Captain Jagmohan said Dugarajapatnam has the scale and maritime potential to support a globally competitive shipyard serving both domestic and international markets. The facility is intended to provide modern shipbuilding capacity while supporting the development of a broader maritime industrial ecosystem.
The Andhra Pradesh Maritime Board will facilitate land, infrastructure and statutory clearances required for implementation. The Visakhapatnam Port Authority, which holds a 50 per cent stake in NSHIP-AP, is also expected to coordinate with the Centre and other central government agencies for development of the proposed cluster.
The Dugarajapatnam project adds another major shipbuilding investment to India’s eastern coastline and is expected to expand domestic capacity for commercial vessel construction while creating a base for associated marine manufacturing and logistics activities.
