Kerala Government to Lease 18.16 Acres to Cochin Shipyard for ₹5,000 Crore Project.

The Kerala government will lease 18.16 acres of land at Ramanthuruth near Kochi to Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL) for a ship block building project involving an investment of around ₹5,000 crore, Chief Minister V D Satheesan said on Tuesday.

The land, located on an island near Kochi city, will be used to develop a ship block fabrication facility, Satheesan said at a press conference.

The project is expected to create around 2,000 direct jobs, apart from generating additional indirect employment opportunities. The state government will receive an annual lease amount of ₹1.45 crore, which will rise to around ₹1.70 crore including GST.

Satheesan said the proposal had been pending for some time and was cleared following discussions with Cochin Shipyard. He described the decision as significant for the state’s shipbuilding sector and said the investment could create further development opportunities in Kochi.

According to sources at the state-run shipbuilder, CSL plans to establish a large Block Fabrication Facility (BFF) at the site. Steel blocks will be pre-outfitted, painted and finished at the facility before being transported as large sections to Cochin Shipyard’s new dry dock.

The fabricated blocks will then be used to assemble and construct ships at the new dry dock. The facility is expected to reduce vessel construction time by ensuring faster availability of ready-to-use steel blocks, thereby helping accelerate ship deliveries.

The project is also expected to strengthen Kerala’s shipbuilding ecosystem and attract further investment into the sector.