Ahmedabad The Pipavav Shipyard will soon come up with Initial Public Offers (IPOs) worth over Rs 500 crore to invest in new projects.
According to Bhavesh Gandhi, the executive vice-chairman of the shipyard, the project cost totalled to around Rs 2,950 crore, of which Rs 2,500 crore has already been
realised. The IPO would make up for the rest.
The company, which claims to have built the largest shipyard in India, said it will undertake four main activities there — construction of defence vessels (Naval warships as well as Coast Guard vessels), construction of commercial vessels, oil and gas exploration and building jackets and process platforms as part of its offshore segment and repair of ships.
The company is currently building four panamax-sized vessels, the first of which is expected to be delivered by February 2010. Subsequent deliveries will take one to three months.
The company officials added that it has received orders for 22 panamax-sized vessels and 12
Offshore Supply Vessels from ONGC. The company expects to deliver these by 2012.
The company also said that it has adopted two Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs), one each in Rajula and Mahuda, so that it can upgrade and introduce new courses in ship building and offshore training facilities so that they can source technicians locally.
The company also said it will be capable of ship construction and repair of up to a maximum 400,000 deadweight tons (DWT), and is presently handling 75,000 DWTs.
Gandhi further said the shipyard is equipped for building naval warships, adding that the company has engineers and technicians with more than 30 years of experience.
Pipavav Shipyard is divided into two distinct units with a combined area of 500 acres. The dock size
itself is an export-oriented unit and spread over 257 acres.
For fabrication of ships, block-making facilities are being set up at the company’s
SEZ unit, which occupies 235 acres. A dedicated 4.5 km route links the SEZ and the Export Oriented Unit.
Pipavav also has the largest dry dock in the country, 662 metres long and 65 metres broad.
Source : expressindia.com