Bharat Forge, Andhra govt sign MoU for private marine gas turbine facility in Vizag

Bharat Forge Ltd and the Andhra Pradesh government have signed an agreement to establish India's first private-sector Marine Gas Turbine repair facility in Visakhapatnam.

Bharat Forge Ltd and the Andhra Pradesh government signed an agreement to establish India's first private-sector Marine Gas Turbine repair, overhaul and indigenous development facility in Visakhapatnam.

Recently, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu laid the foundation for the nearly Rs 16,000 crore Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) infrastructure project at Puttaparthi in Sri Sathya Sai district, along with a few other defence and drone city projects aimed at boosting Andhra Pradesh's aerospace and defence manufacturing ecosystem.

''The Andhra Pradesh government and Bharat Forge have entered into an MoU to set up the country's first private-sector facility for Marine Gas Turbine (MGT) repair, overhaul and indigenous development at Visakhapatnam,'' said an official press release on Tuesday.

The projects will cater to all three services and strengthen our efforts to make India self-reliant in defence manufacturing. Andhra Pradesh is set to emerge as a major hub of aerospace and defence production, it said.

The facility will come up over nearly 80 acres within the Andhra Pradesh Defence Manufacturing Corridor and will be co-located with the Naval Dockyard, INS Eksila and Eastern Naval Command Headquarters at Visakhapatnam, said the press release.

The project will bring MGT repair, overhaul and indigenous development capabilities into India's private sector for the first time, reducing dependence on foreign facilities for maintenance of Indian naval warship engines.

Phase 1 of the project will establish a full MGT repair and overhaul complex, including hot section restoration of blades, vanes and combustion liners, component manufacturing facilities and a non-destructive evaluation laboratory, it said.

The first phase will also provide a 72-hour turnaround capability for the Naval Dockyard at Visakhapatnam, aimed at improving maintenance and operational readiness of Indian naval propulsion systems.

Phase 2 will establish India's first private-sector MGT development and assembly hall along with a full-spectrum hot test cell scalable across all propulsion ratings, said the press release.

The second phase will also undertake development and qualification of an indigenous MGT on Indian soil for the first time in the country's private sector.

The facility is also expected to serve as a regional repair and overhaul hub for friendly foreign navies while generating nearly 750 direct and indirect employment opportunities, it said.

Bharat Forge Vice Chairman and Joint Managing Director Amit Kalyani said India's dependence on foreign-built marine propulsion engines would end with the establishment of the Visakhapatnam facility.

Gas turbines form the propulsion backbone of frontline Indian naval surface combatants, though overseas supply chain disruptions in recent years have affected repair cycles and operational readiness of warships.

The project is being positioned as a strategic national initiative aimed at strengthening India's defence manufacturing ecosystem and long-term naval self-reliance.