The defence shipbuilder is pursuing joint ventures and private investment for proposed yards in Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh, as it looks to expand into commercial shipbuilding.
Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders is preparing to widen its business beyond warships and submarines as it seeks partners for two proposed commercial shipbuilding clusters in Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh, a move that could mark one of the state-owned yard’s biggest strategic shifts in years.
According to the company’s chairman and managing director, Captain Jagmohan, the projects at Dighi and Dugarajapatnam are expected to require about ₹20,000 crore over five to seven years. Business Standard reported that the broader agreements signed with the two state governments refer to a larger proposed investment of ₹30,000 crore, underlining that the build-out would be phased rather than immediate.
The plans centre on creating industrial-scale shipbuilding hubs that would begin with annual capacity of 500,000 gross tonnes in each cluster before ultimately reaching 1.2 million gross tonnes a year. The Directorate General of Maritime Administration says the government’s shipbuilding development scheme is designed around shared infrastructure clusters and identifies both Dighi and Dugarajapatnam as proposed sites for such development.
Financing is likely to combine public money, debt and private capital. Jagmohan said MDL is planning a 50:50 joint venture with the Maritime Investment Fund, which is being managed by SBI Ventures, and the company expects debt to cover roughly 70 per cent of the wider project cost, with equity making up the rest. Across both locations, the total equity requirement is estimated at about ₹6,500 crore.
MDL is also looking beyond financial investors. The company has been speaking with large industrial groups that rely on shipping for trade, along with international makers of maritime equipment, in an effort to bring in partners who could also become users of the yards. Jagmohan said investors from the United States and Germany had shown interest. The company is said to be considering a model in which ship operators take equity stakes, while separate project companies ring-fence the finances and operations of each cluster. MDL intends to retain at least a 26 per cent holding.
The timing of the expansion fits with the government’s wider push to rebuild India’s shipbuilding base. In September 2025, the Union Cabinet approved a ₹69,725-crore package to support the sector, including a ₹25,000-crore Maritime Development Fund made up of a ₹20,000-crore Maritime Investment Fund and a ₹5,000-crore interest support fund. The package also includes a ₹19,989-crore Shipbuilding Development Scheme aimed at lifting annual capacity to 4.5 million gross tonnes and strengthening clusters, infrastructure, skills and technology.
For Mazagon Dock, the proposals represent a major expansion of its role from defence contractor to a broader industrial shipbuilder. Yet the plans remain at an early stage. Approvals still need to be secured, partners lined up and detailed financing completed before construction can begin. Jagmohan has also said the company is considering a public listing of the shipbuilding venture once one of the yards becomes operational, suggesting MDL sees the projects as a platform for longer-term growth rather than a single capital spend.
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