India To Build New Port

India's private-sector defense giant, Larsen & Toubro (L&T), is setting up a new port facility in the southern state of Tamil Nadu.

The facility will be able to handle military ships including submarines, a senior L&T official said. The company is already building the hull of India's stealthy nuclear submarine, the Advanced Technology Vehicle.

The port facility, located at Kaatupalli in the Thiruvallur district, is being built jointly with the state of Tamil Nadu and is likely to cost around $750 million. The joint venture agreement to set up the facility was signed in the state's capital, Chennai.

The shipyard will have the capability to build very large crude carriers, passenger vessels and ships for specialized applications such as transporting LNG, LPG and defense applications.

Construction on the project will begin within the year, and is expected to be completed in about two years.

L&T also plans to build warships at the dry docks and jetties at the Kattupalli yard, the company official said.

L&T's defense division already makes ancillary equipment, such as propulsion steering gears and shafts, for military ships.