MDL to build Rs 15,000 crore greenfield shipyard at Dugarajapatnam, generating 45,000 jobs in Andhra Pradesh

Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL), a Navratna defence public sector undertaking under the Ministry of Defence, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with National Shipbuilding and Heavy Industries Park-Andhra Pradesh (NSHIP-AP) to develop a modern greenfield shipyard at Dugarajapatnam in Tirupati district.

Under the agreement, MDL envisages an investment of around Rs 15,000 crore over the next five to seven years, subject to required approvals and clearances. The project is expected to generate direct and indirect employment for around 45,000 people in Andhra Pradesh. The MoU was signed between MDL Chairman and Managing Director Captain Jagmohan (retd) and NSHIP-AP Managing Director Praveen Adhithya, in the presence of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu.

The proposed shipyard will have a design capacity of 1.2 million gross tonnes per annum, with scope for further expansion depending on market demand. The facility will construct commercial vessels, including tankers, bulk carriers and other large specialised ships.

Speaking at the event, Naidu said Andhra Pradesh is committed to being at the forefront of India’s ambition to become one of the world’s top five shipbuilding nations by 2047, adding that the state would leverage its long coastline, strategic location and industrial ecosystem to drive growth in the maritime sector. He said the Dugarajapatnam shipbuilding cluster, with MDL as the anchor shipyard, would position Andhra Pradesh as a major shipbuilding hub and attract investments and ancillary industries to the state, while creating large-scale employment across shipbuilding, marine engineering, manufacturing, logistics and other allied sectors.

Andhra Pradesh Secretary for Infrastructure and Investment, Kona Sasidhar, said the selection of MDL as the anchor shipyard marked an important milestone in the state’s maritime development, adding that the project had the potential to create a major shipbuilding and ancillary ecosystem at Dugarajapatnam.

MDL Chairman and Managing Director Captain Jagmohan said Dugarajapatnam offers the scale and maritime potential required to establish a globally competitive shipyard.

Dugarajapatnam shipbuilding and port cluster

The Andhra Pradesh government is planning a wider greenfield shipbuilding-cum-port cluster at Dugarajapatnam. A techno-economic feasibility report estimates the cost of the shipbuilding and ship-repair yard at approximately Rs 29,254 crore, while the proposed adjacent port is estimated at Rs 9,513 crore. The port component is expected to be developed by the Government of India. The shipbuilding cluster is being implemented under the Government of India’s Shipbuilding Development Scheme.

The Dugarajapatnam announcement follows a broader wave of state-level shipbuilding investment activity. In a related development this month, Cochin Shipyard Limited and MDL together committed a combined Rs 30,000 crore to establish greenfield commercial shipyards in Tamil Nadu, a move expected to generate around 55,000 jobs across the two projects.