Tamil Nadu Industries Minister S Keerthana on Tuesday visited HD Hyundai Heavy Industries' Ulsan shipyard during her first international visit to South Korea.
Describing her visit in a post on X, the 30-year-old TVK leader expressed commitment towards developing the Thoothukudi Greenfield Shipyard, for which an MoU was signed in April 2026.
Keerthana said she toured shipbuilding facilities, observed advanced production systems and held discussions on potential areas of cooperation.
She said that Tamil Nadu is well placed to become a leader in the Blue Economy and a major hub for shipbuilding and maritime industries.
On the proposed Thoothukudi Greenfield Shipyard, she said it is one of the earliest outcomes of the India-Republic of Korea maritime cooperation framework and reflects the "growing strategic partnership between our two countries in the maritime sector."
"The project is envisaged as a mega greenfield shipyard with the capability to support large commercial vessel segments and strengthen India's long-term shipbuilding capacity."
She added that the project has the "potential to generate large-scale employment, attract global suppliers, strengthen domestic shipbuilding capability, create opportunities for MSMEs and ancillary industries."
According to the Shipping Ministry, a tripartite MoU was signed on April 20 between HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering Co. Ltd. (HD KSOE), National Shipbuilding & Heavy Industries Park, Tamil Nadu Limited (NSHIP-TN), and Sagarmala Finance Corporation Limited (SMFCL) for the development of India's first Mega Greenfield Shipyard at Thoothukudi.
The agreement emerged under the India-ROK Comprehensive Framework 'VOYAGES' (Shared Vision for Operation of Yard Assisted Growth with Efficiency and Scale) for Partnership in Shipbuilding, Shipping and Maritime Logistics, launched following the meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Lee Jae Myung during his visit to India.
The mega shipyard at Thoothukudi has an envisaged annual capacity of 2.5 million gross tons (GT). The project is expected to generate approximately 15,000 direct jobs upon stabilisation of operations, the ministry stated.
(With inputs from ANI)
