The
International Ship Repair Facility (ISRF) at Cochin Shipyard Ltd launched on
January 17th will transform Cochin 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 17 Jan.
The PM 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. 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.
Thenew 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 foremost
position of Cochin ship yard limited’s green technology capabilities and its
focus on building ‘Make in India’ vessels.
CSLr manufactured 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.