Bharati Shipyard Ltd and unlisted Apeejay Shipping Ltd said on Tuesday they would invest Rs2,000 crore in an equal joint venture to set up a modern shipbuilding yard along India’s eastern coast.

While Indian shipbuilders are expanding their capacities with buyouts of other yards and assets, Indian shipping and engineering firms are planning to set up shipbuilding yards to exploit the sector’s surging potential.

“The JV with Bharati Shipyard heralds our foray into shipbuilding industry at an opportune time,” Apeejay-Surrendra Group chairman Karan Paul said, adding the Indian shipbuilding industry is expected to grow multi-fold.

The proposed shipyard, expected to start operations in 2009, would build superior ships of high tonnage and also cater to the ship repairing business of existing shipping firms globally, Bharati said in a statement.

Bharati Shipyard, which has orders worth Rs4,430 crore, owns three shipyards in India and is building the fourth one in Mangalore. Its group subsidiary, Pinky Shipyard, owns one yard in Goa.

“We expect growing demand and our new shipyard along the east coast is expected to partly fulfill this requirement,” managing director V. Kumar of Bharati Shipyard said. Earlier this year, Bharati Shipyard bought assets of 130-year-old Swan Hunter (Tyneside) Shipyard Ltd from England.