Artson Group & Malabar Cements Partner for Boat Manufacturing in Kerala

Kochi (Kerala), Feb 22 (PTI) Artson Group, a subsidiary of the Tata Group, and public sector undertaking Malabar Cements signed an MoU on Saturday to establish a joint venture for setting up a boat manufacturing unit here.

The MoU for the Rs 300 crore project was signed at the Invest Kerala Global Summit, which concluded on Saturday, a government release said.

The Tata Group subsidiary had expressed interest in investing in Kochi and driving industrial growth, it added.

As per the MoU, a boat manufacturing unit for vessels under 100 tonnes will be set up on seven acres of land leased by Malabar Cements from the Cochin Port Trust, the release stated.

Providing details of the project, Artson Group CEO Shashank Jha and Malabar Cements Managing Director Chandra Bose said the manufacturing unit was expected to become operational within six months, following government-level discussions.

In the first phase, the boats will be supplied to the Kochi Water Metro, with plans to export to Europe also under consideration, they added.

The two-day Invest Kerala Global Summit, which began on Friday, was hosted by the Government of Kerala with the support of various industry organisations.