Centre approves Rs 1,570 crore ship repair facility at Gujarat's Vadinar

New Delhi: The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Tuesday approved a Rs 1,570 crore state-of-the-art ship repair facility at Vadinar, Gujarat.

The project will be jointly developed by Deendayal Port Authority and Cochin Shipyard Limited as a brownfield facility featuring a 650-metre jetty, two large floating dry docks, and associated infrastructure.

Located at a strategic site with natural deep draft and proximity to major ports like Mundra and Kandla, the facility will repair large vessels up to 300 metres — addressing India’s current limitation of repairing ships beyond 230 metres, a statement from the government said.

The project is expected to reduce dependence on foreign shipyards, save foreign exchange, and generate around 290 direct and 1,100 indirect jobs while boosting maritime ancillary industries and MSMEs in the region, the statement said.

The Vadinar Ship Repair Facility will directly address a critical gap in India’s ship repair infrastructure, as the country currently lacks adequate domestic capacity to repair large vessels exceeding 230 m in length. By enabling repair of vessels up to 300 m, the facility will allow high‑value repairs of large vessels within India. This will significantly reduce dependence on foreign shipyards and curb foreign exchange outflow, the statement added.