Hindustan Shipyard to be modernised: M M Pallam Raju, Union Minister of State for Defence

VISAKHAPATNAM: Union Minister of State for Defence, M M Pallam Raju, today said the Hindustan Shipyard here would be modernised to build bigger vessels including warships.

Talking to media after commissioning ceremony of Coast Guard ship Rani Abbakka here this evening, he said the central government had given Rs 825 crore for the restructuring of the shipyard, after it was taken over by the defence ministry in 2010.

The Centre would be providing another Rs 450 crore for the modernisation of the shipyard to build bigger vessels including warships and oil platforms in future, the minister said.

`Rani Abbakka', the first in a series of five Inshore Patrol Vessels (IPVs) to be built at Hindustan Shipyard, takes the name from Abbakka Mahadevi, 16th century queen of Tulunadu, Karnataka, who fought the Portuguese.