L&T’s integrated shipyard, port plan gets TN nod

Chennai, Jan. 10 Larsen & Toubro’s proposal to put up an integrated ship building yard and port has got the green signal from the Tamil Nadu Government. The facility will come up at Ennore, north of Chennai, with an investment of over Rs 2,000 crore. The Tamil Nadu Cabinet approved the project on Thursday, according to reliable sources.

The Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation, a State Government undertaking which owns the land on which the project will come up, will have an equity stake in the project.

Larsen & Toubro Ltd plans to build large tonnage ships — of up to three lakh dwt — at the ship building yard. It has decided to go in for an integrated port facility as well because of the cost and the breakwater construction work involved. The cost could be shared between the port and the shipyard.

The company had looked at sites in Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu and held discussions with the three State governments. Even last week, L&T’s Chairman and Managing Director, Mr A.M. Naik, called on the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, Mr M. Karunanidhi, along with the Union Finance Minister, Mr P. Chidambaram, when the project was discussed.

L&T has a ship building facility at Hazira in Gujarat and was looking to construct a greenfield facility since it could not expand at Hazira and also because the ship building business was booming.

The Tamil Nadu Government announced in August 2007 a minor ports policy, which was meant to facilitate the integrated ship building yard-cum-port project. Under the policy, the Government said captive ports could handle commercial cargo, thereby improving the economic viability of such a project.

Source:RamblerNews