Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Ltd, has signed a memorandum of understanding with National Shipbuilding and Heavy Industries Park Maharashtra Ltd, to establish a large greenfield shipbuilding cluster at Dighi Port in Maharashtra’s Raigad district. The proposed project, estimated to involve an investment of approximately ₹27,000 crore, is expected to create around 90,000 direct and indirect employment opportunities.
The agreement was signed in the presence of Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and senior state officials. The project is being developed jointly by the Maharashtra Maritime Board and the Mumbai Port Authority through NSHIPML, a special-purpose entity established for the initiative.
The Dighi facility is planned to achieve an annual shipbuilding capacity of at least two million gross tonnes. Gross tonnage measures the internal volume of a vessel and is widely used in the shipbuilding industry to assess capacity. The proposed scale would allow the facility to handle large commercial vessels and significantly expand India’s domestic shipbuilding capabilities.
The project is also expected to support the manufacture of both defence and commercial ships. According to statements reported after the agreement, the facility could undertake shipbuilding, ship repair, ship recycling and shipbreaking activities, creating an integrated maritime industrial ecosystem rather than a standalone shipyard.
Chief Minister Fadnavis described the proposal as potentially India’s largest shipyard. He said the project could generate approximately 15,000 direct jobs and 75,000 indirect employment opportunities across manufacturing, logistics, engineering, fabrication, maintenance and ancillary industries. The employment impact is expected to extend beyond Raigad by creating demand for suppliers and skilled workers across Maharashtra and other industrial regions.
The cluster’s location at Dighi gives it access to the Arabian Sea and places it within Maharashtra’s established maritime network. The state government expects the project to attract private investment, advanced technologies and suppliers involved in marine equipment, steel, propulsion systems, electronics and heavy engineering. Such an industrial concentration can reduce logistics costs and enable shipbuilders to share infrastructure, testing facilities and specialised services.
For Mazagon Dock, the initiative represents a major expansion beyond its established defence shipbuilding operations in Mumbai. The company is one of India’s key public-sector shipbuilders and has built warships and submarines for the Indian Navy. A large facility at Dighi could provide additional space for complex naval programmes while enabling the company to pursue high-volume commercial shipbuilding.
The broader policy context is equally significant. The project is being developed under the Centre’s Greenfield Shipbuilding Cluster Development Plan and is aligned with the objectives of Maritime Amrit Kaal Vision 2047. These initiatives aim to increase India’s share of global shipbuilding, strengthen maritime infrastructure and reduce dependence on overseas yards.
However, construction will begin only after the required permissions and regulatory clearances are secured. The Maharashtra government has indicated that the project could take about three years to complete once work begins. The final pace will depend on land development, environmental approvals, port connectivity, financing and the creation of supporting infrastructure.
The Dighi announcement is therefore more than a single corporate investment. It signals an effort to build a broader maritime manufacturing base around a strategically located industrial cluster. If implemented as planned, the project could boost Maharashtra’s role in India’s shipbuilding industry, create thousands of skilled jobs and strengthen the country’s ability to build, repair and recycle vessels domestically.
