• PAGE ONE
• INDEX
• HOME

Cochin Shipyard to wipe out losses

THE PUBLIC sector Cochin Shipyard Limited, which posted a record net profit of more than Rs 44 crore in 1999-2000, is all set to wipe out its book loss in 2000-01. The book loss was Rs 42 crore in 1999-2000 against more than Rs 160 crore in 1995-96. This should be possible because of better capacity utilisation.

The shipyard, which was so far concentrating on traditional activities such as shipbuilding, ship-repairs and the construction of offshore platforms, now proposes to explore opportunities in the construction of the sub-sea pipeline required for productio n and transportation of crude from offshore oilfields, construction and repair of LNG and CNG vessels and the construction of dredgers for inland waterways and ships for coastal movement.

For the manufacture of LNG/CNG vessels, the technology transfers have begun and the yard is going ahead with the development of 112,000-dwt tankers that will be versatile and have several applications, including the transportation of CNG. The yard is als o planning facilities in strategic ports such as Mumbai, Chennai and Tuticorin to tap the growing ship-repair market.

Much, however, will depend on the policies of the Union Government. After all, the yards in major ship-building nations such as Japan, China and Korea have always benefitted from favourable government policies. -- Our Bureau