Mumbai. 18th January, 2016. Reliance Infrastructure Ltd (RInfra) took over the management and control of Pipavav Defence & Offshore Engineering Co Ltd (PDOC) and to hold 36.5% of the equity capital of Pipavav Defence & Offshore Engineering Co Ltd. Anil D Ambani has taken over as Chairman of PDOC. RInfra along with defence SPVs are the new Promoters of PDOC and the Company will be renamed as Reliance Defence and Engineering Ltd.
Vice Admiral (Retd.) H S Malhi has been appointed as the Whole-time Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Company. He had a distinguished 36 years service in the Indian Navy and was ex-Chairman & Managing Director of Mazagon Dock Ltd. PDOC has also appointed eminent professionals including distinguished personnel from defence sector, Air Chief Marshal (Retd) Fali Homi Major and LT Gen ( Retd) Syed Ata Hasnain as Independent Directors.
The Government of India has identified the ship building industry as a priority sector to support the critical need to meet the requirements of the Indian Navy as well as the commercial ships. Expected Naval Capital Outlay in ship building for next 10 years Rs. 2,25,000 crore and conservative share of Private Sector at 50% amounts to Rs. 1,12,500 crore. PDOC is participating in various programmes in the field of new ship-building and Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) which are in various stages of RFP/ RFI of worth more than Rs 1,80,000 crore.
The company has the largest engineering infrastructure in India and is one of the largest in the world. The Company is the first private sector company in India to obtain the licence and contract to build warships. The facility houses the only modular shipbuilding facility with a capacity to build fully fabricated and outfitted blocks. The fabrication facility is spread over 2.1 million sq. ft. The shipyard has a pre-erection berth of 980 meters length and 40 meters width, and 2 Goliath cranes with combined lifting capacity of 1,200 tonnes, besides outfitting berth length of 780 meters. Reliance for sure has taken over an asset and will grow the business on the firm foundations of PDOC.