L&T secures Rs1,432 crore defence order for patrol vessels ​

India’s largest engineering and construction firm Larsen and Toubro Ltd (L&T) on Tuesday said it has won a Rs1,432 crore contract to design and build seven offshore patrol vessels (OPVs) for the Indian Coast Guard.

The contract from the ministry of defence is part of the government’s initiative to strengthen India’s coastal security.

OPVs are long range surface ships, capable of operation in maritime zones of India, including island territories with helicopter operational capabilities.

Their roles include coastal and offshore patrolling, policing maritime zones of India, control and surveillance, anti-smuggling and antipiracy with limited wartime roles.

“In keeping with government’s ‘Make In India’ focus, complete design and engineering of OPVs is planned to undertaken in-house at L&T’s warship design centre. The first OPV under the project is scheduled to be delivered within 36 months from signing of the contract. Subsequent OPVs shall be delivered at six months interval,” L&T said in a statement.

L&T is already executing a contract for design and construction of 54 fast interceptor boats for the Indian Coast Guard. 26 interceptor boats have already been delivered. The last one was delivered 23 months ahead of schedule, the company said.

“L&T is targeting to complete develivery of all boats far ahead of schedule. With contracts for 54 interceptor boats and seven OPVs, L&T is positioned as the largest supplier of patrol vessels to the Indian Coast Guard,” L&T said.

In February, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said at the Aero India show in Bengaluru that the country imports nearly 60% of its defence equipment, spending tens of billions of dollars. Even a 20-25% reduction in imports could create an additional 100,000-120,000 highly skilled jobs in India, he said.

India will see a total defence budget allocation of $620 billion between financial years 2014 and 2022 of which 50% will be on capital expenditure, according to a report released by the industry lobby the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Ficci) and financial services company Centrum Capital Ltd in February. The annual opportunity for Indian companies—both state-owned and private—is expected to reach $41 billion by fiscal year 2022 and $168 billion cumulatively, it said.

At 2.10pm, L&T was up 0.68% at ₹ 1,739.90 on the BSE, while the benchmark Sensex was up 0.61% at 28,145.92 points.