Cochin Shipyard Plans ₹3,000 Crore Steel Block Fabrication Facility.

Cochin Shipyard Ltd (CSL), the public sector shipbuilding major, is planning fresh investments in Kochi with a proposal to set up a large Block Fabrication Facility (BFF) for ship construction. The facility is expected to come up at Vallarpadam, near the International Container Transshipment Terminal, with a proposed investment of around ₹3,000 crore.

Madhu S. Nair, Chairman and Managing Director of CSL, told businessline that the facility, part of a brownfield expansion, is expected to be commissioned within 40 months after receiving the necessary approvals.

The new plant will focus on making pre-outfitted, painted, and finished steel blocks — key components used in shipbuilding — which will then be transported to Cochin Shipyard’s newly built drydock for the construction of ships. Once operational, the Vallarpadam facility will have the capacity to build up to one lakh tonnes of steel blocks annually.

According to Nair, the addition of the steel block fabrication facility will significantly accelerate shipbuilding timelines by ensuring a faster and more reliable supply of critical components.