Chairman of Visakhapatnam Port Authority (VPA) M. Angamuthu (File photo)
| Photo Credit:
DEEPAK KR
Andhra Pradesh Government has approved incorporation of a new company, Ship Building and Heavy Industries Part Andhra Pradesh (NSIHP-AP) as a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) with equal equity stake between the AP Maritime Board (APMB) and Visakhapatnam Port Authority (VPA).
The State Government has accorded permission to APMB for taking necessary action for establishment of a Greenfield Port and Shipbuilding Cluster at Dugarajapatnam, Tirupati District including permission to form the SPV, a State Government order said.
“ Andhra Pradesh has immense potential which can be harnessed not only for the development of the state but also the entire marine ecosystem. The SPV will contribute to building national infrastructure,”M Angamuthu, Chairperson, VPA told businessline on Thursday.
“This project will give immense development potential and employment potential, opportunities and prosperity in the future. Visakhapatnam port will closely work with the Govt of AP, Govt of India to handle this project in a time bound manner, ‘’ he added.
Ship-building
The 50:50 SPV between the two entities will be exclusively for development of ship-building, ship repair and allied maritime industrial infrastructure at Dugarajapatnam near Nellore. The initiative falls under the ship-building Development Scheme (SbDS). The selection of strategic shipyard partner to develop the cluster will be done in line with SbDS guidelines.
The Dugarajapatnam ship building and repair cluster, which will be a project with an estimated cost of ₹29,662 crore spread across 2000 acres, will leverage the 974 km-long coastline of Andhra Pradesh.
The hub will have four dry docs, ship-lift facilities and supporting infrastructure positioning AP as a top ship building destination. It proposes to create a ship-building capacity of 1.2 million gross tonnage per annum (GTPA). The project is expected to draw ₹8000 crore to ₹10,000 crore in ancillary investments from ship component makers, marine equipment suppliers and logistics service providers,
Published on March 5, 2026