The Indian government keeps expressing very much interest in Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI), drawing attention. India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited only Hyundai’s Ulsan plant during his two-day trip to Korea in May, and also suggested to India’s Defense Ministry to join a project to build fleet support ships for the country’s navy with India’s state-run shipyard.
According to shipbuilding industry sources and local media reports on Sept. 2, India's Ministry of Defense is anticipated to place an order for five fleet support ships this year. Rear Admiral N. K. Mishra, chairman of Hindustan Shipyard Ltd., which will be in charge of constructing the ships, said, “When Hyundai builds the ship at its plant in Korea, we will dispatch some workers there to learn and experience their technology and expertise. Then, we will build the other four in India with technical advice from the Korean shipbuilder.”
The deal to build a fleet support ship will be valued at 20 billion rupees (US$301.86 million or 35.74 billion won). The ships will have a speed of 16 knots, range of 12,000 nautical miles, and carry ballistic weapons.
Currently, India is planning to construct numerous ships, including multipurpose landing ships, in a bid to increase naval power. Accordingly, it is showing great interest in the technology of HHI, which has a wide variety of experience in shipbuilding.
Separately, Hyundai Heavy is expected to clinch another deal from India to build liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers. GAIL Ltd., India's largest state-owned gas firm, is scheduled to place an order for up to 11 LNG carriers this year to transport LNG from the United States to India for 20 years from 2017.
There is another reason for the Indian government to display continuous interest in HHI. In addition to the best technology as the world's largest shipbuilding company, HHI has a great success story of turning an empty stretch of beach in Ulsan into the world's largest shipyard. An official from India said, “Prime Minister Modi is very interested in South Korea, which has achieved the economic miracle on the Han River by the supporting manufacturing industry, starting with the Saemaeul Movement, or the New Community Movement. He tells Indians that we can do it, just like Korea, at the unofficial occasion.”
In fact, India has been carrying on campaigns called “Clean India” and “Make in India,” which are similar to Korea’s Saemaeul Movement in the 1960s, after Prime Minister Modi took office.
Another official well-versed in India said, “Prime Minister Modi likes Korean firms, which have created various success stories. Among others, he likes HHI, which has become the world’s number one company by transforming an empty sandy beach into a shipyard.”
When Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Korea in May, he said, “Since India has 2500 km of coastline, there is plenty of room for development in the shipbuilding industry. I hope that Korea, which has considerable technical skills in the shipbuilding industry, makes investment in India’s shipbuilding industry.”