Shekhar Mital- Goa Shipyard Limited bags Rs. 32,000-crore large Defence order for 12 minesweepers

Goa Shipyard Limited (GSL) has bagged a large order for building 12 minesweepers valued at Rs. 32,000 crore. The project will be implemented from 2018-2025, said Rear Admiral (Retd) Shekhar Mital, Chairman and Managing Director of GSL, today on the sidelines of a two-day “South Korean delegation meet on ‘Make in Goa’ for Defence and marine ancillary industries.â€

“GSL and Indian industries are looking at partnering with Korean shipbuilding industry in bringing world class technology to maritime sector of the country and this initiative will go a long way in the making of the Mine Counter Measure Vessel (MCMV) project,†said Mital.

He later said that 90 per cent of the benefits from the Ministry of Defence order for building 12 minesweepers will go to local units. The order, he said, has tremendous scope for manufacturing components and ancillaries and units in Goa will be given first preference.
Production facilities ::

GSL is open to setting up production facilities for local units and supporting them with technology tie-ups, finance and marketing.

The 3,000-work force-strong Goa Shipyard plans to add around 1,000 in three years and has already speeded up its on-going modernisation programme, said Mital.

As many as 28 Korean companies (suppliers) participated in the exercise to work towards collaboration with local units in production.

A 24×7 facilitation cell to foster tie-ups and to address concerns has been set up. . The cell will address queries from Korean companies and they will be guided to the right Goan partner, Mital said. The meet brought together all stakeholders under one umbrella to explore the opportunities of local manufacturing. Policy makers from India and South Korean governments along with all the heads of public and private shipyards in both the countries participated in the discussions.

Prominent delegates from Korea included Park Sun Kook, President, Bhusan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Yoon so Park, chief director, Korean Marine Equipment Research Institute, along with the CEOs of Korean companies.

The Indian side was represented by the heads of Pipavav Shipyard, MDL Shipyard, Naval Headquarters and Coast Guard. Local agencies such as State-owned DITC, EDC were also present.
B2B meeting ::

A business-to-business (B2B) meeting between Goan and Korean companies was held where prominent industrialists exchanged views, said Parag Joshi, CII, Goa.

The deliberations centred on potential synergies between the Republic of Korea and Goan industries in localised manufacturing components required for the MCMV programme as well as other Defence and commercial shipbuilding programmes. The project, Mital said, would ensure around 50 per cent indigenisation, which is one of the objectives of the ‘Make in India’ initiative.

Source from India Defence News.