Reliance To Set Up Strategic Shipyard At Rambilli To Build Nuclear Vessels
10 January, New Delhi
In a move set to give the private defence sector a big launch pad, Reliance today announced a tie up with Andhra Pradesh government for building a strategic shipyard on the eastern seaboard of the country, which will be co-located with strategic facilities of the Indian Navy and Department of Atomic Energy.
Reliance Defence Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Reliance Infrastructure Limited, signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the government of Andhra Pradesh to set up a world class naval facility at Rambilli, 70 km south of Visakhapatnam. The state government will provide 1,500 acres of land for the purpose, while Reliance is to invest Rs 5,000 crore in the new facility, which will generate over 10,000 new jobs, a statement issued by the company said here.
This facility will support the Indian Navy’s strategic projects and focus on building strategic submarines and aircraft carriers.Under the MoU signed at Visakhapatnam during the 22nd CII Partnership Summit and Sunrise Andhra Pradesh first Investment Meet, the government of Andhra Pradesh will make 1,500 acres of land available for this facility in close proximity of strategic establishments of the Indian Navy and Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC). Reliance will make an initial investment outlay of Rs 5,000 crore in this project. This will represent the single-largest investment at one location anywhere in Andhra Pradesh.
This investment, in addition to generating more than 10,000 new jobs, is also expected to lead to the creation of a multi-tier array of defence ancillaries, bringing in further investment of Rs 5,000-Rs 10,000 crore and thousands of additional skilled jobs.Apart from building different categories of naval vessels for the Indian and foreign navies, this shipyard will also focus on the maintenance, refit and services of ships.
It is estimated that the Indian Navy will spend over Rs three lakh crore over the next 15 years or nearly Rs 20,000 crore per year on acquisitions and fleet modernisation of submarines and aircraft carriers, over the next 15 years, creating a huge pipeline of opportunity for the proposed world class naval facility.