KOCHI : The International Ship Repair Facility (ISRF) at Cochin Shipyard Ltd launched on Wednesday will transform Kochi into Asia’s largest ship-repair centre, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said.
“Kochi got the country’s largest dry dock today. Other projects like shipbuilding, ship repairing and LPG import terminal will also give momentum to development in Kerala and the southern region of the country,” he said while delivering the inaugural address after dedicating to nation infrastructure projects worth Rs 4,000 crore including a 310-m-long New Dry Dock and ISRF at CSL, and the LPG Import Terminal of Indian Oil Corporation at Puthuvypeen in Kochi on Wednesday.
The PM also recalled CSL’s achievement in building the ‘Made in India’ aircraft carrier INS Vikrant. “New facilities will enhance the capabilities of the shipyard many times,” he said. Citing the analogy of multiple MSMEs coming together to build INS Vikrant, the PM expressed confidence in the creation of a new ecosystem of MSMEs with the inauguration of such huge shipbuilding and repair facilities. “The new LPG Import Terminal will meet the LPG needs of Kochi, Coimbatore, Erode, Salem, Kozhikode, Madurai, and Trichy while also supporting industries, other development activities and creation of new jobs in these areas,” he added.
Modi said that the new dry dock is the pride of India. “This will not only enable big vessels to dock but also make shipbuilding and ship repair work possible here, reducing dependence on foreign countries. It will also help save foreign exchange,” he said.
The PM noted the foremost position of CSL’s green technology capabilities and its focus on building ‘Make in India’ vessels. The PM also praised CSL for manufacturing electric vessels for Kochi Water Metro. “Electric hybrid passenger ferries for Ayodhya, Varanasi, Mathura and Guwahati are being made here. Kochi Shipyard is playing an important role in modernising green water connectivity in cities across the country,” he said. He also mentioned zero-emission electric cargo ferries being made for Norway and the work in progress on the world’s first hydrogen-fuelled feeder container vessel.
“Kochi Shipyard has further strengthened our mission to take India towards hydrogen fuel-based transport. I am confident that the country will soon get an indigenous hydrogen fuel cell ferry,” PM Modi added. Governor Arif Mohammed Khan, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, Union Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Sarbananda Sonowal, Union Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan, and Hibi Eden, MP, were present on the occasion.