The National Shipbuilding Mission has granted in-principle approval for the development of a mega greenfield shipbuilding cluster at Dighi in Maharashtra.

The project is estimated to cost ₹27,500 crore and will have a capacity of 2 million Gross Tonnage. The approval was given by the inter-ministerial body headed by Vijay Kumar, Secretary, Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways.

The Dighi cluster will be developed by the National Shipbuilding & Heavy Industries Park, Maharashtra, a special purpose vehicle jointly floated by the Mumbai Port Authority and the Maharashtra government. The SPV will be responsible for developing common infrastructure, both on land and seaside, at the cluster.

This marks the fifth greenfield shipbuilding cluster to receive in-principle approval under the National Shipbuilding Mission, following Thoothukudi in Tamil Nadu, Dugarajapatnam in Andhra Pradesh, Kuchhadi in Gujarat, and Kendrapada in Odisha.

The Mission, constituted under the Shipbuilding Financial Assistance Scheme, is the nodal coordinating agency for India’s shipbuilding sector, overseeing policy, monitoring, and sanctioning capital assistance for cluster development under the Shipbuilding Development Scheme.

The Dighi facility will be the largest greenfield shipyard cluster after the one planned by South Korea’s HD Hyundai Heavy Industries at Thoothukudi. It will be developed on 2,000 acres across two land parcels with a 2.6 km waterfront and a 14-metre draft in protected waters along the Dighi creek.

The site is strategically located adjacent to Dighi Port, operated by Adani Ports and SEZ Ltd, and benefits from strong backward integration with the Pune-Kolhapur industrial belt and the planned Dighi Smart City. Its proximity to Mumbai and Bengaluru is expected to aid in attracting and retaining skilled manpower.

Haskoning India Consulting Pvt Ltd has been engaged to prepare the Detailed Project Report for the cluster. The concept of a greenfield shipbuilding cluster is based on plug-and-play infrastructure, designed to host a comprehensive ecosystem for shipbuilding and repair.

Each cluster will typically comprise a waterfront of around 2 km and a landside area of 2,000 acres, divided equally between shipyards and ancillary industries, along with internal, social, and common facilities.

As per scheme guidelines, the land parcel earmarked for the cluster must be transferred to the SPV by the state government at a nominal cost of ₹1. Where government land is unavailable, the state government will acquire land at its own expense.

Ancillary industries will include engine manufacturing, steel and component fabrication, suppliers of shipboard machinery, equipment, systems, and other allied units that support shipbuilding and repair.

The Dighi cluster will host one or more large shipyards with a total capacity of about 1.2 million GT per annum. The SPV is required to secure investment commitments from anchor shipyards to establish facilities within the cluster.

At least one anchor shipyard must have a design capacity of 0.5 million GT per annum, to be achieved within ten years of commissioning. Once anchor shipyards are selected, the facilities will be funded under the Shipbuilding Development Scheme.

The Union government has budgeted ₹19,989 crore for the Shipbuilding Development Scheme, including ₹11,728 crore for greenfield clusters and ₹8,261 crore for brownfield expansions.

The scheme aims to develop 3–4 greenfield clusters, limited to one per state, and will provide 100 per cent capital assistance in the form of grants for eligible components such as breakwaters, tide-independent basins, wave breakers, channel and basin development, land reclamation, grading, regional capability centres, common maritime assets, internal infrastructure, utilities, and land development.

By 2047, India aims to increase its shipbuilding output forty-fold to 4.5 million GT, positioning itself among the world’s top five shipbuilders. The Dighi cluster represents a critical step towards achieving this ambition, complementing other clusters across the country and strengthening India’s maritime industrial base.

Agencies