HD Hyundai announced on Sunday, December 7, that it signed a strategic and comprehensive partnership with the Tamil Nadu state government regarding the establishment of a new shipyard in India. The ceremony was held recently in Madurai, southern India, with the attendance of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin, State Industries Minister T.R.B. Rajaa, and Head of Corporate Planning at HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering, Choi Hannae.
The Indian government is strategically pursuing the "Maritime Amrit Kaal Vision 2047" in an effort to become one of the world's top five shipbuilding and shipping nations. To achieve this goal, the government is actively reviewing not only the expansion of existing shipyards but also the establishment of new facilities.
In practice, 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. As a result, the state has ultimately selected HD Hyundai as its project partner for the establishment of the new shipyard.
In particular, 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. It already hosts major Korean companies such as Hyundai Motor Company and Samsung Electronics, and large-scale investments are planned for nearby port facilities, further strengthening expectations for future business expansion.
Earlier this month, HD Hyundai also signed a Memorandum of Understanding on the collaboration for maritime & port crane development in India with BEML (Bharat Earth Movers Limited), a state-owned enterprise under the Indian Ministry of Defence, in Bengaluru, southern India. Headquartered in Bengaluru, BEML operates in various sectors including defense and aerospace equipment, mining and construction equipment, and railway and metro vehicles. The company also has multiple manufacturing bases in southern India, including Bengaluru and Kolar.
Through this agreement, 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 of this year. In addition, 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.
An HD Hyundai official said, "India is a market with strong growth potential, backed by the government's robust commitment to fostering the shipbuilding industry," adding, "We will continue to expand cooperation with India in the shipbuilding and offshore sectors and develop it into a new growth engine."
Earlier 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.
