Plan of action
The group plans to invest Rs 100-200 crore at Kakinara in North 24 Parganas district of WB, where the company has already acquired 60 acres. The group has also floated Titagarh Marine Ltd, to venture into the new business vertical. Armed with its vast experience and versatility in the heavy engineering domain, Titagarh Group is confident of pulling off the feat with élan.
According to Suubrata Munshi, managing director at Mal Seanav, a Kolkata based mid-sized ship repair and construction company, “Ship building activities in WB will be revived with the advent of a big name like the Titagarh Group. With states like Kerala emerging in the forefront with its ship building activities, the state is in need of a major revival on the shipbuilding front.”
Speaking at the sidelines of the India and Singapore: Exploring Business Synergies, an event organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry, J P Chowdhury, chairman of Titagarh Group shared the future plans of the company with regard to the Rs 650-crore project. According to Mr Chowdhury, the company will commence its shipbuilding operations from its pre-existing land at Kakinara. The second phase of the group’s sojourn would see it launch its operations from Kulpi in South 24 Parganas district, after the land acquisition is finalised.
Mr Chowdhury further highlighted that at its Kakinara location, Titagarh Group would take up building vessels, up to 150 metres in length. At its Kulpi location which will see Rs 450-crore investment, the company will take up building bigger vessels, in the line of Panamax.
For land acquisition in Kulpi, the company has already initiated talks with the locals.
Priyanka Roy Chowdhury |
The sagging shipping industry in the state of West Bengal (WB) will get a new lease of life with Titagarh Group keen on foraying into the ship building segment. The group has also proposed a Rs 650-crore shipbuilding project for WB, to be etched out in two phases.
