Autonomous Maritime Shipyard Centre at Juvvaladinne to work with local fishermen, MSMEs

The Autonomous Maritime Shipyard and Systems Development Centre being set up by Pune-based Sagar Defence Engineering at Juvvaladinne village in Bogole mandal of SPSR Nellore district, will not only strengthen indigenous defence capabilities with advanced maritime technologies, but also increase livelihood avenues for the locals.

In an e-mail interaction with The Hindu, Capt. Nikunj Parashar, founder & CEO of Sagar Defence Engineering, said, “The fishermen community is an integral part of the long-term vision of the project. We see strong opportunities to work alongside them, especially in areas such as testing, operations and real-world validation of maritime technologies with their generations of knowledge of the sea.”

Describing fishermen as the ‘true custodians of the coastline’, he said a strong emphasis would be put on capacity building along with two-way skill development.

“The upcoming centre is envisioned to generate over 1,000 direct and indirect jobs across technical, operational and various other support roles, and a strong focus will be put on local hiring,” he said.

After the A.P. government allocated 29.58 acres of land, including 7.58 acres of waterfront area, on a lease basis for this project, a section of political leaders alleged that Juvvaladinne Fishing Harbour is going under the clutches of private players.

Refusing the allegations, Mr. Nikunj said, “Our focus is purely on building better infrastructure and creating value for the fishing community through this project. We are committed to transparency and compliance.”

The unmanned marine surface vehicle manufacturer aims to work with the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in the region. “The MSMEs will play a critical role in the supply chain, from fabrication and components to services and logistics, creating a robust local and regional industrial ecosystem around the centre,” he said.

Last month, IT and Electronics Minister Nara Lokesh laid the foundation stone for the world’s first autonomous maritime shipyard and systems centre near Juvvaladinne Fishing Harbour. “The project will position A.P. as a hub for maritime innovation, robotics and advanced shipbuilding. The State’s blue economy journey has begun,” he posted on social media platform X.