The Hindu : Business : L&T floats ship building venture

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, May 03, 2006

Business

Business

L&T floats ship building venture

Staff Correspondent

Bags Rs. 440-crore order

MUMBAI: Larsen & Toubro (L&T) has won a key contract for construction of four ships, valued at over Rs. 440 crore, from Zadeko Ship Management CV of the Netherlands. This order marks the formal launch of L&T's venture into shipbuilding and the vessels will be built at a new shipyard that will form part of the company's engineering complex at Hazira in Gujarat.

A. M. Naik, Chairman and Managing Director, L&T, said shipbuilding would significantly expand the company's high technology manufacturing capabilities and represented another major step forward in meeting the company's strategic growth objectives.

The new venture would be aligned with the national priority for extending India's shipbuilding capabilities and enhancing the country's share of the global shipbuilding market, said Mr. Naik.

Zadeko, the Rotterdam-based shipping company, caters to special purpose cargo movement and it will continue its association with L&T for its future vessel acquisition programme across a series of vessels.

Production in July

The production of the ships is scheduled to commence in July. Technically, the ships are termed as RO-RO/LO-LO semi-submersible heavy lift container cargo ships and are highly specialised vessels, being among the few to be made in India. They have a deadweight capacity of over 8,250 tonnes and 17,000 cubic metres of cargo hold and can carry 830 TEU of containerised cargo.

L&T's Hazira shipyard will focus on construction of commercial vessels and warships for the navy as well as the coast guard.

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