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HD Hyundai seeks strategic partnership with India as New Delhi makes maritime expansion push

Published: 13 Nov. 2025, 16:20

SHIN MIN-HEE
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HD Hyundai Chairman Chung Ki-sun, right, meets with Hardeep Singh Puri, India’s minister of petroleum and natural gas, at the HD Hyundai Global R&D Center in Seongnam, Gyeonggi, on Nov. 13 to discuss ways to expand bilateral cooperation in the shipbuilding and maritime sectors. [HD HYUNDAI]

HD Hyundai is moving to establish a strategic partnership with the Indian government as part of India’s national maritime development initiative.

HD Hyundai Chairman Chung Ki-sun met with Hardeep Singh Puri, India’s minister of petroleum and natural gas, on Thursday at the Korean company’s Global R&D Center in Seongnam, Gyeonggi, to discuss ways to expand cooperation.

The meeting was also attended by Gourangalal Das, Indian ambassador to Korea; Esha Srivastava, joint secretary of India’s Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Arun Kumar Singh, chairman and CEO of the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation; Madhu S Nair, chairman of Cochin Shipyard; and Sushil Kumar Singh, chairman of Deendayal Port Authority, among other key public-sector executives and maritime industry officials.

Chung introduced the Indian delegation to HD Hyundai’s ship design and construction capabilities, as well as its smart shipyard systems.

The two sides explored potential ideas to enhance India’s shipbuilding capacity, expand its commercial fleet and develop its maritime technologies.

This visit is part of the Indian government’s Maritime Amrit Kaal Vision 2047 initiative, through which India aims to become one of the world’s top five shipbuilding nations by 2047.

India aspires to increase its commercial fleet from 1,500 vessels to 2,500, while boosting self-reliance and competitiveness in the maritime industry, including shipping, ports, shipbuilding and offshore plants.

The Indian government plans to invest $24 billion into the shipbuilding and maritime sector, while announcing an $8 billion support program in October for new related projects.

The Cochin Shipyard in India [HD HYUNDAI]

In July, HD Hyundai signed a memorandum of understanding with Cochin Shipyard, India’s largest state-run shipbuilder. The two companies pledged to collaborate in areas such as ship design, procurement support, productivity improvement and work force development. Recently, the partnership has expanded to include naval shipbuilding projects.

“HD Hyundai will be India’s best partner in advancing its shipbuilding industry, based on a strong foundation of trust,” Chairman Chung said. “We will continue to demonstrate global leadership for the sustainable growth of the shipbuilding and maritime industries.”

“HD Hyundai will be a key partner in realizing India’s maritime vision,” Minister Puri said. “We look forward to further deepening and advancing our cooperation through exchanges between the government of India and HD Hyundai.”

The Indian delegation is set to visit HD Hyundai Heavy Industries’ Ulsan shipyard on Friday and observe the shipbuilding process at its commercial and special-purpose shipyards.

BY SHIN MIN-HEE [[email protected]]