The Indian government has been in touch with major shipbuilders in South Korea and Japan to encourage them to set up bases on the sub-continent in a move similar to how China advanced so rapidly up the shipbuilding ranks 20 years ago.
The Indian government has made it clear it wants to become a top-five global shipyard nation within a decade, and is in the process of unveiling a major stimulus package for the sector.
Sarbananda Sonowal, the nation’s shipping minister, has revealed in an interview with Business Standard, a local newspaper, many top names in Korean and Japanese shipbuilding have expressed interest in establishing yards in India.
“This could involve direct investments, joint ventures, or technology sharing, or other forms of collaboration. Such international interest is a testament to the attractiveness of India’s shipbuilding initiative and the potential benefits of global expertise and capital infusion into the sector,” Sonowal told Business Standard.
At the turn of the century as China made clear its intention to up its game when it came to shipbuilding it adopted a similar policy welcoming many well-known Korean and Japanese shipbuilders such as Kawasaki, Tsuneishi, and Samsung among others to set up in the People’s Republic.
T.K. Ramachandran, secretary at India’s ministry of ports, shipping and waterways, said New Delhi wants to replicate in the domestic shipbuilding industry the automobile revolution that began with wooing Japanese carmaker Suzuki in the 1980s to establish Maruti Suzuki India.
On Friday, India’s shipping ministry announced plans to build multiple shipbuilding clusters in collaboration with coastal states
Splash reported last month on how Pipavav Shipyard, the largest shipyard in India by capacity, is set to resume operations having come out of bankruptcy. Pipavav’s return follows a swathe of other recent Indian yard announcements such as defence contractors foraying into commercial shipbuilding, and new yard capacity opening up on both the east and west coast of the world’s most populous nation.
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