Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Ltd (MDL) will invest around ₹27,000 crore to build a greenfield shipbuilding cluster at Dighi in Maharashtra’s Raigad district, a project the state government says is expected to create about 90,000 jobs.
MDL signed a memorandum of understanding with National Shipbuilding and Heavy Industries Park Maharashtra Ltd (NSHIPML) on Tuesday, 15 September 2026, in the presence of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. Under the agreement, the defence PSU has set a target of at least 2 million gross tonnes of annual shipbuilding capacity at Dighi, enabling construction of large commercial vessels.
The cluster is being jointly developed by the Maharashtra Maritime Board and the Mumbai Port Authority through NSHIPML, a special-purpose company set up for the project. It will house shipbuilding infrastructure along with an industrial and supply-chain ecosystem for the sector.
The state government said the project will “strengthen the country’s maritime industrial capabilities” and boost domestic shipbuilding capacity while attracting technology and investment. MDL Chairman and Managing Director Captain Jagmohan said the company would work with all stakeholders to develop a modern and globally competitive facility at Dighi. Jagmohan signed the MoU with NSHIPML Managing Director Pradeep P.
MDL, a Navratna defence PSU established in 1774, is among India’s leading shipbuilders and had an order book of about ₹23,758 crore as of December 2025. The Dighi push aligns with a wider national effort to expand domestic shipbuilding and reduce reliance on foreign-built vessels for India’s trade.
Timelines for land development, phasing and hiring at Dighi will determine when the projected 90,000 jobs materialise. The plan adds to a run of large state-backed job-creation commitments, including seven states chasing 1,380 GCCs and 12 lakh jobs by 2031.
