L&T to start work on its integrated shipyard soon

Larsen and Toubro hopes to shortly begin work on the integrated shipbuilding yard and port at Ennore, north of Chennai.

Construction will begin once earmarking of land for the project is over. Its proposal for this project got the Tamil Nadu Government's approval in January 2008 and the company is now discussing the agreement it will sign with the Government for the project. The project's cost has been estimated at R3,060 crore (US$766 billion) with the equity component being put at Rs1,100 crore (US$275 billion). The Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation, a State Government industrial promotion agency, will hold a three percent equity stake in the venture. The process of earmarking the 1,200 acres of land for the project is on and once that is finished construction work will start, according to the sources. The project is expected to take 24 months for completion. L&T plans to build large-sized ships, including very large crude carriers (250,000 tonnes and more) at the shipbuilding yard. It is expected that the company will also make vessels for defence purposes. L&T had initially proposed only a shipyard but decided to go in for an integrated port because of the cost and the breakwater construction work involved. The cost could then be shared between the port and the shipyard.

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