Thursday 18 February 2016

Govt sets 3-year deadline for shipbuilding aid

Committed liabilities on shipbuilding subsidy in the earlier scheme were liquidated by the Government till March 2014.


Shipbuilders will get financial aid from the Government only if they complete construction of a ship within three years of signing the contract, according to the draft guidelines.

The Centre is taking precautions as some of the ship orders signed before the previous subsidy scheme ended in August 2007 were left incomplete, reports a business daily.

Committed liabilities on shipbuilding subsidy in the earlier scheme were liquidated by the Government till March 2014.

South Korean and Chinese yards build a ship in 18 months whereas Indian ship builders take anywhere between 2-3 years to construct a ship, according to the daily.

The 3-year timeframe will be relaxed for construction of specialized vessels such as LNG, LPG, passenger ships built under the Indian Merchant Shipping Act with a minimum capacity of 500 (barring the vessels built under Inland Vessels Act), chemical tankers, floating or submersible drilling or production platforms, FPSO units, FSO units and FSRU units.

Moreover, the Government has stated that contracts signed between the shipyard and the buyer or ship owner for construction or manufacture of more than one vessel (in a single order) shall not be eligible for claiming financial assistance, reports the paper.

To qualify for the shipbuilding subsidy, a six-ship contract would have to be split into orders for six separate ships, according to the daily.

The financial assistance to shipbuilders will be valid for a 10-year period beginning 1st April 2016.

The quantum will be reduced by 3% every three years, starting with 20% during the first three years.

No comments:

Post a Comment