Cochin Shipyard and DP World's Drydocks World Form a 50:50 JV for the Kochi Ship Repair Facility

12 September 2026National

Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL) and Drydocks World (DDW), a Dubai-based DP World company, signed a 50:50 joint venture on 11 September 2026, on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit, to operate and expand the International Ship Repair Facility (ISRF) at Willingdon Island, Kochi. The roughly Rs 1,800 crore JV gives DDW operational control, letting it nominate three of five directors and the key executives. Built at a cost of Rs 970 crore and operational since August 2024, the 30-acre ISRF has six workstations and about 1,400 metres of berthing, and can handle six vessels at a time and about 82 a year.

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Cochin Shipyard Limited, set up in 1972 under the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, built INS Vikrant, India's first indigenous aircraft carrier | DP World is headquartered in Dubai, United Arab Emirates | Willingdon Island in Kochi is one of the largest artificial islands in India

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