CHENNAI: VO Chidambaranar Port Authority (VOCPA) has set up a special purpose vehicle with the Tamil Nadu government to develop a greenfield shipbuilding cluster at Thoothukudi, significant towards operationalising the proposed project.
The SPV, National Shipbuilding - Heavy Industries Park, Tamil Nadu, has been incorporated as a 50:50 joint venture between VOCPA and the State Industries Promotion Corporation of Tamil Nadu (SIPCOT), the port authority said on Thursday.
Separately, officials from Guidance Tamil Nadu held discussions with the Directorate General of Shipping (DGS) in Mumbai on Wednesday on the strategic roadmap for the proposed greenfield shipbuilding cluster.
The discussions covered funding guidelines and national support mechanisms available under the Shipbuilding Development Scheme, as well as international collaborations related to shipbuilding.
According to official information, the proposed cluster is planned as a greenfield facility with an estimated land requirement of about 2,000 acres and around 2 km of waterfront. Once fully developed, it is envisaged to have a shipbuilding capacity of around 1.2 million gross tonnes annually, including at least one anchor shipyard designed to reach about 0.5 million gross tonnes within 10 years.
South Korea's HD Hyundai has been identified as a proposed participant in the project, though the nature and extent of its involvement have not been disclosed.
Project cost estimates and timelines have not been announced so far and are expected to be firmed up as land identification and detailed project planning progress.
The move follows a MoU signed in September 2025 in the presence of Union Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal. The Thoothukudi SPV is the first to be formed under the Centre's shipbuilding development framework, after the guidelines were finalised in December 2025.