Shipbuilding in West Bengal: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday laid the foundation stone for five new brownfield expansion projects of Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers Ltd. (GRSE) and Yantra India Limited (YIL) in Kolkata. The projects are expected to strengthen defence production and shipbuilding in West Bengal. They will also create more jobs and help local industries, including MSMEs. The five projects together involve more than Rs 3,400 crore, with reports putting the total value at nearly Rs 3,500 crore.
The ceremony was held at GRSE Bhavan. West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari and senior defence and state officials were also present. The five projects include three facilities for GRSE and two for YIL. The move is part of efforts to increase India’s own defence manufacturing under the Make in India and Aatmanirbhar Bharat programmes.
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GRSE Expands Shipbuilding Facilities
GRSE has signed lease agreements with Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port, Kolkata, to develop facilities at Raichak, Shalimar and Kidderpore along the Hooghly River.
The biggest project is at Raichak. The 32-acre site will be developed as a large shipbuilding hub with an investment of more than Rs 2,500 crore. It will have a 200-metre dry dock, slipway, launching area and block-making facilities. The site will also have a 356-metre waterfront and a 96-metre jetty. It will be able to build warships up to 200 metres long and commercial ships of up to 60,000 DWT.
GRSE is also spending around Rs 100 crore to improve the four-acre Timber Pond facility at Shalimar. The work includes bringing back its 130-metre dry dock and adding a 120-metre slipway for medium-sized ships. Around Rs 70 crore will be used at the Damodar facility in Kidderpore for vessel repairs and the building of electric ferries and small boats.
GRSE CMD Cmde PR Hari called the expansion a major moment for the company.
“It’s a historic day for GRSE with five new facilities, three for GRSE and three shipbuilding facilities that too in West Bengal with an investment of nearly Rs 2,670 crore, a very big investment,” Hari said. “So, there are two things in this, one is our capability and capacity will definitely increase, second is there is a lot of employment generation in this, direct or indirect.”
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Yantra India is carrying out two major projects at its Metal and Steel Factory in Ishapore. The two facilities together cost more than Rs 750 crore. One project is a Rs 277.59-crore 3,000-ton Heavy Duty Hydraulic Open Die Forging Press. It will replace an older 2,650-ton press and make gun barrels, ammunition parts and other heavy forgings.
The second project is a Rs 473.84-crore Radial Forging Plant. It will produce super-alloy forgings, aerial bomb tubes, ordnance parts, railway axles and components for nuclear reactors. Both facilities will use modern Industry 4.0 technology and energy-saving systems.
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More Capacity and Jobs
GRSE has already built 118 warships, including 80 for the Indian Navy. The company also received Navratna status in 2026, giving it more freedom for major investments and expansion.
“We are primarily warship builders; we have delivered 118 warships, a century of warships so far,” Hari said. “So, in warship building, our capability is already proven, but now there are opportunities in both warship building and commercial shipbuilding. In that, our PM’s motto can be implemented as ‘Make in India, Make for the world.'”
He also said, “And today, what the Defence Minister has promised is that now capability is existing, capacity is limited. So, with these initiatives, we are enhancing the capacity, and capacity will increase, new technology will come, skill resources will come, definitely GRSE, ‘Great GRSE’ as what Defence Minister has suggested, that will happen.”
