HD Hyundai Partners with Tamil Nadu for $2bn Shipyard

South Korea’s HD Hyundai has entered into an agreement with the Tamil Nadu state government to develop a new $2 billion shipyard facility in Madurai, located in southern India.

The Thoothukudi area of Tamil Nadu is already home to prominent Korean corporations including Hyundai Motor and Samsung Electronics, with substantial investments planned for adjacent port infrastructure.

India’s government is advancing the Maritime Amrit Kaal Vision 2047 initiative, aiming to position the country among the world’s top five nations in shipbuilding and maritime sectors. To reach this objective, authorities are actively considering both the expansion of current shipyard operations and the construction of new facilities.

A representative from HD Hyundai stated, “India is a market with strong growth potential, backed by the government’s robust commitment to fostering the shipbuilding industry.”

At the beginning of this month, HD Hyundai also finalized a memorandum of understanding regarding collaboration on maritime and port crane development in India with Bharat Earth Movers Limited (BEML), a government-owned company operating under the Indian Ministry of Defence, in Bengaluru, southern India.

Previously in July this year, HD Hyundai signed an MOU with Cochin Shipyard to advance cooperation across multiple domains, including design and procurement support, productivity enhancement, and human capital development.