Cochin, Hooghly Dock & Port Engineers Set Up JV

Indian shipbuilder Cochin Shipyard Ltd has established a joint venture company with compatriot shipbuilder Hooghly Dock & Port Engineers Limited.

The joint venture named Hooghly Cochin Shipyard Limited was set up on Monday, October 23, according to a regulatory filing from Cochin.

The formation of the JV follows a green light from the country’s Ministry of Shipping in March this year.

As disclosed, the new company aims to modernize shipbuilding infrastructure at the two shipyard sites of Salkia and Nazirgunge in Kolkata.

Cochin Shipyard and Hooghly Dock & Port Engineers Limited will have 76% and 24% stake in the company respectively.

In September, reports emerged on Cochin’s expansion plans in Andaman and Nicobar, Gujarat, Kolkata and Mumbai, where new facilities are expected to be set up.

The plans were revealed by Nitin Gadkari, India’s Minister for Road Transport, Highways and Shipping, in an interview with Press Trust of India on the back of the shipbuilder’s initial public offering (IPO), through which Cochin Shipyard raised INR 14.4 billion (USD 224.8 million).

As informed earlier, Cochin intends to use the proceeds to partly fund two expansion projects costing up to INR 28 billion (USD 436.3 million).