HD Hyundai has signed a strategic partnership with the Tamil Nadu state government regarding the establishment of a new shipyard in India.
The Indian government is strategically pursuing the "Maritime Amrit Kaal Vision 2047" to become one of the world's top five shipbuilding and shipping nations. To achieve this goal, the government is actively reviewing the expansion of existing shipyards and the establishment of new facilities.
The Indian government has shortlisted five states—including Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, and Andhra Pradesh—as candidate sites for the construction of a new shipyard and is currently in the process of identifying the most suitable location.
Seeking to revitalize the local economy, the Tamil Nadu state government has made the establishment of a shipyard its top priority and has expanded efforts to provide incentives and subsidies, enhance infrastructure, and secure skilled talent. The state has ultimately selected HD Hyundai as its project partner for the establishment of the new shipyard.
The Thoothukudi region of Tamil Nadu—cited as one of the candidate sites for the new shipyard—is regarded as an optimal location, with temperature and rainfall conditions similar to those of Ulsan, Korea, where HD Hyundai Heavy Industries is located.
Earlier this month, HD Hyundai also signed a MoU on the collaboration for maritime and port crane development in India with Bharat Earth Movers Limited (BEML), a state-owned enterprise under the Indian Ministry of Defence, in Bengaluru, southern India.
HD Hyundai plans to strengthen collaboration with BEML across the entire crane manufacturing process—including design, production, and quality assurance—aiming to gradually build port crane manufacturing capabilities within India. Looking ahead, the company also plans to expand its business by supplying goliath and jib cranes to local shipyards in India.
In relation to this, HD Hyundai Samho, a shipbuilding affiliate of HD Hyundai, successfully delivered a 600-ton Goliath crane to Cochin Shipyard, India's largest state-owned shipbuilder, in February. In August, HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering, the intermediary holding company for the shipbuilding division, announced it would acquire HD Hyundai Eco Vina from Doosan Enerbility to further reinforce HD Hyundai's ongoing expansion in the crane business.
In July this year, HD Hyundai signed an MoU with Cochin Shipyard to promote cooperation in a wide range of areas, including design and procurement support, productivity enhancement, and human capital development. More recently, the scope of this partnership has been expanded to include naval vessel projects, further strengthening HD Hyundai's presence in India.
