In a bid to revive the defunct Gujarat government-owned shipbuilding company Alcock Ashdown, the state-owned Cochin Shipyard has been asked by the Union Shipping Minister, Mr Mansukh Mandaviya, to take it over. The company, which is currently in the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), has stopped operating since many years. “When I came to know that this company has shut and people there have lost jobs, I asked the management of Cochin Shipyard to take over this company and revive it,” said Mr Mandaviya.
Alcock Ashdown owns two shipbuilding yards, one on the coast of Bhavnagar and another at Chanch in Amreli district. As a part of the Ministry’s initiative to give a boost to the coastal community, Alcock can develop deep-sea vessels, which the Ministry wants to give to the fishermen at subsidised rate.