The government-owned Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Ltd (GRSE) will soon set up a three-way joint venture (JV) for a ship designing facility in Kolkata, its chief said on Friday (3rd April). For this JV, GRSE will collaborate with French naval shipbuilder Direction des Constructions Navales Services (DCNS) and an Indian information technology (IT) firm.

 

K.C. Shekhar, Chairman and MD of GRSE told reporters on the sidelines of a seminar in Kolkata that, the JV would help GRSE to design state-of-the-art ships for naval and commercial use. But he refrained himself from naming the Indian IT company, which is also a party to the proposed JV company. He also did not disclose the total amount of investment. However, he said the equity base would be to the tune of Rs.100 million. The three companies would hold less than 50 percent stake each in the JV.

 

The proposed design centre in Kolkata will spread over a 1,200 square feet area. It would initially employ about 70-80 design professionals to be scaled up to 200 at a later stage. Shekhar said he is hopeful that the deal would be sealed in two to three months.