Kochi: Cochin Shipyard Ltd (CSL) is planning to set up a Rs 80-crore IT park in the city. The diversification is part of the shipyards effort to fully utilise its resources and also to ensure a steady income in the future, outgoing chairman Rear Admiral R K Whig said.

The park would be built on the shipyard-owned property at Panampally Nagar, a Kochi borough. The feasibility study had projected that the park could start making regular revenue in seven years.

The IT park option was taken after analysing the prospect of Kochi emerging a major information technology centre due to its international connectivity for high-speed data communications. The shipyard will provide extensive infrastructure in the IT park, Whig said. CSL will seek private participation for the IT park; it would be joint venture project.

Whig said CSLs ship-repair facility had emerged the frontrunner in India last year by making a revenue of Rs 181 crore; it made a net profit of Rs 38.49 crore last year. CSL had secured many of the ship-repairing works against stiff international competition, and its major competitors are Colombo, Dubai, and Singapore.

The ship-repair facility is now close to full capacity and CSL is planning to expand it by installing a ship-lift system. It is also planning to set up ship-repair workshops at Mumbai, Chennai and Tuticorin.

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