RUSSIA TO START A NEW SHIPBUILDING PROJECT IN VIZAG?

In these times when the city of Visakhapatnam is already hosting various defense sector enterprises, there might be a latest addition to support the growing requirement of the Indian Navy. United Shipbuilding Corporation (USC), a russian company, is likely to set up a Shipbuilding project in Vizag.

According to the senior officials of AP and USC, the USC has decided to set up a major shipbuilding project in Visakhapatnam and a decision is expected to be announced formally after requisite approvals from the Russian government as well as the Indian central and state governments.

President of USC, Alexey L Rakhmanov visited Vizag recently to participate in a meeting between Indian and Russian defence industries and said, “We are here to complete our first round of investigation and selection of a site for a major shipbuilding project that we are planning in India. Many productive discussions with the state government have been held and the situation of shipbuilding facilities and shipbuilding related assets is so big here that for us, it is extremely interesting and attractive.”

In addition to this, he also said the corporation is ‘seriously considering’ AP as a base for not only catering to the Indian market, but also for using the proposed manufacturing hub to cater to a global requirement with Indian co-operation. He said, “We are not only looking at the manufacturing side, but also have plans for preparation of tie-ups between Indian and Russian universities to train specialists. This will also serve the purpose for our shipbuilding so we have specialists and professionals, who are so much needed in this business.”

Meanwhile, CEO of AP Economic Development board J Krishna Kishore said, “We have already held two to three meetings and they are totally impressed with AP. They are ready to invest in a major manufacturing hub in Vizag. If one major unit comes here from Russia, then all the subsidiary units will also come here. We can’t comment on the investment, but we are hoping for an agreement soon.”