Andhra Pradesh clears a new greenfield port and a national shipbuilding hub in Tirupati, boosting India’s maritime sector.
The Andhra Pradesh government has authorised the development of a greenfield port and a National Mega Shipbuilding Cluster at Dugarajapatnam in the Tirupati district. This initiative is designed to bolster the maritime and industrial capabilities of the state.
In an official directive issued on 2 January 2026, the state empowered the Andhra Pradesh Maritime Board to proceed with the project, which necessitates the acquisition of approximately 2,000 acres of land. The proposed port and shipbuilding centre are part of the Shipbuilding Development Scheme managed by the Union Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways.
According to the Special Chief Secretary for Infrastructure and Investment, M.T. Krishna Babu, formal permission has been granted to the maritime board to commence all necessary actions for the establishment of both the port and the shipbuilding cluster.
To manage and accelerate the project, a Special Purpose Vehicle will be established as a joint venture between the central ministry and the Andhra Pradesh government. The Union Ministry will provide support through its state agencies, including the Visakhapatnam Port Authority.
The maritime board will create a 50:50 joint venture with the Visakhapatnam Port Trust, ensuring equal representation from the state government and the port authority on the board of the Special Purpose Vehicle. The maritime board is also authorised to finish land acquisition, secure the necessary funding, and transfer the land as equity on behalf of the state.
The project includes the creation of an anchor shipyard with an annual capacity of 0.5 million gross tonnage, intended to be reached within a decade of opening. The Visakhapatnam Port Authority and the maritime board will coordinate the development, with the state granting the board the power to select a development partner for the shipyard.
The government order highlights that India currently possesses a shipbuilding capacity of roughly 0.01 million gross tonnage per year. Under the Maritime India Vision 2030 and the Maritime Amrit Kaal Vision 2047, the central government intends to increase this to 4.5 million gross tonnage annually, aiming to place India among the top five nations globally by 2047.
SOURCE – MARITIME GATEWAY
