Kolkata:Defence PSU Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Ltd is making seven vessels for foreign countries, out of the 23 ships that are in the different stages of construction, its chairman and managing director Commodore (retd) P R Hari said. GRSE, which had bagged the prestigious Rs 19,294-crore order for the construction of three advanced stealth frigates under Project 17A for the Indian Navy, has already launched two of these ships and the construction of the third one is in full swing.
"Of the 23 ships being developed by GRSE, seven are for foreign countries," Hari told media. The Kolkata-based warship maker is constructing six patrol boats for Bangladesh and an ocean-going passenger and cargo ferry vessel for Cooperative Republic of Guyana, he said. After having launched P17A advanced frigate INS Himgiri and large survey vessel INS Sandhayak, GRSE is doing outfitting work on these ships at its FOJ (fitting out jetty) unit before handing these over to the Indian Navy, Hari said.
The second stealth frigate Dunagiri made by the shipyard was launched on July 15 by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh. Among the ships under construction at its sprawling facilities on the bank of the Hooghly river are four large survey vessels, of which Sandhayak is undergoing outfitting. "GRSE is also constructing eight anti-submarine warfare water crafts for the Navy," Hari said.
A major supplier for the Indian Coast Guard, the public sector undertaking is making a fast patrol vessel for it, apart from refitting ICGS Sujay, he said. In its endeavour to introduce green technology in shipbuilding, GRSE has signed a contract with the West Bengal government for the construction of a next-generation electric ferry, Hari said. "I believe that once delivered, this vessel will be a game changer for inland water transport in India and will also have good export potential," he said.
The shipbuilder, which derives nearly 95 per cent of its revenue from warship making, also manufactures deck machinery items, pre-fabricated portable steel bridges and marine pumps, the official said. GRSE, which has so far delivered 107 warships with the maiden INS Ajay in 1961 being India's first indigenously-made warship, has been a profit-making company for the last 28 years, he said.
Following thorough modernisation, the shipyard at present can build 20 ships, eight large and 12 small, concurrently, the official said. A listed company, GRSE, has posted a record quarterly total income of Rs 621 crore in the April-June period of 2022-23, a growth of 81 per cent over the corresponding months in the last financial year, he said. Profit after tax stood at Rs 50 crore in the quarter ended June 30, 2022, as against Rs 21 crore in the year-ago period, and registered a growth of 138 per cent, he added. (PTI)
