Indian Larsen & Toubro, who recently forayed into the shipbuilding sector, intends to set up a Rs. 2,000-crore shipyard in India with the capacity to build high-value ships. The company is searching a suitable piece of land, measuring 800 acres to 1,200 acres, to set up the shipyard. The company identified three States, namely, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat and expects to finalize the location by end of January 2006.
A.M. Naik, CMD, said tht there is a huge demand for shipbuilding in India, which has not yet developed the capacity to build big-sized carriers to the desired level and the country needs at least three to four more efficient shipyards. The company is still examining whether to hive off its shipbuilding unit into a subsidiary or a separate company, he added.
Asked whether L&T was mulling the option of taking over existing shipyards, Naik said the company had proposed a joint venture with the state-owned Hindustan Shipyard Ltd in Visakhapatnam about three years ago. The proposal has been pending with the Ministry of Shipping since then and the company is still open to the proposal, he said. He, however, added that a joint venture with Hindustan Shipyard Ltd would not take care of the requirement of its proposed Rs. 2,000-crore shipyard, as the Visakhapatnam yard had a land measuring only 170 acres. Larsen & Toubro Limited is one of the largest companies in India's private sector.