Reliance Defence in pact with UAE's Abu Dhabi Ship Building for naval ship manufacturing

NEW DELHI: Anil Ambani-led Reliance Defence Ltd ( RDL) has signed an MoU with Abu Dhabi Ship Building to set up a strategic partnership for construction of naval ships, including frigates and destroyers to address the demands of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), over the next 10 years.

RDL is a fully owned subsidiary of Reliance Infrastructure Ltd while Abu Dhabi Ship Building ( ADSB) is a leading provider of construction, repair and refit services for naval, military and commercial vessels.

"Under this MoU, RDL and ADSB are investigating the opportunity to set up a strategic partnership for the construction of naval ships - including frigates, destroyers and other specialized vessels to address the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) over the next 10 years," a statement by the Reliance Group said.

The agreement could also see ADSB delivering maintenance, repair, overhaul and refit services to the vessels, in line with regional requirements, it said.

Reliance Group is likely to use its newly acquired ship-building facilities at Pipavav for implementation of this collaboration.

The MoU signing follows the joint statement issued during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to UAE on August 18 which highlighted "cooperation and manufacture of defence equipment in India".

Skills developed and the experience gained through this collaboration will further add to Reliance Group's capabilities and position it favourably as a strategic partner for Indian Navy's future programmes, the statement said.

The programmes include Combat Management Systems (CMS), Integrated Bridge Solutions (IBS), Combat System Integration (CSI), Integrated Platform Management Systems (IPMS) and staff training and development.

ADSB is a major regional provider of construction, repair and refit services for naval, military and commercial vessels in the GCC region.

This potential collaboration could help both companies expand their market share and address new opportunities, it said.

Headquartered in Abu Dhabi and established in 1996, ADSB was originally formed to support the repairs and refits of UAE Navy vessels and currently has a portfolio of construction and refit projects worth over UAE Dirham 3 billion.

ADSB is 40 per cent owned by Mubadala, 10 per cent by Abu Dhabi's government while the rest 50 per cent is publicly traded on UAE's stock exchange.