Hooghly dock & port engineers Ltd. (HDPEL), Nazirguange Works

In today's HDPEL you shall find quality of worklife, new vigour, new energy, new hope and confidence. To provide value added service to the customers strictly within the time schedule is our only goal. HDPEL is now totally focussed and our bottomline is to serve existing and prospective customers to their fullest satisfaction. We are also now fully geared to build energy efficient and cheaper mode of river transport to be an integral part of development of river transport for vast potentials available to develop Inland Water Transport in the line of the thrust of efforts by the Central Government to develop waterways for navigation with necessary infrastructure such fairway, terminals, navigational aids and fleet so that Inland Water Transport can flourish and compete.

Cabinet approves improved VRS for HDPEL employees

The union cabinet on Wednesday approved introduction of an improved Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS) for the employees of Hooghly Dock and Port Engineers Limited (HDPEL) and restructuring of the company through a joint venture (JV).

"The improved VRS package is based on IDA 2007-linked pay scale. The improved VRS scheme would be open for three months with a provision of extension by another one month. After the implementation of the improved VRS, JV formation with the private sector would be attempted failing which the company would be disinvested," an official statement issued after a meeting of the union cabinet here said.

Implementation of the improved VRS package would substantially reduce the manpower of HDPEL and would help in down-sizing. Thereafter, HDPEL would become amenable to restructuring, it said.

The current VRS package is at the old pre-revised scale. Therefore, implementation of an improved VRS package would provide better retirement benefits to the HDPEL employees who opt for it, the statement said.

The decision will take care of employees' welfare as well as prevent recurrent loss to the public exchequer, it added.

West Bengal: Government to give Hooghly Dock and Port Engineers Ltd to private players

NEW DELHI: The Narendra Modi government wants to push ahead with plans to get unviable public sector companies off its hands by selling them or forming joint ventures with investors that can run them profitably.

Toward this end, it's planning to sweeten a retirement offer as part of efforts to privatise Kolkata based Hooghly Dock and Port Engineers Ltd (HDPEL), a shipyard almost 200 years old and among India's oldest. A note in this regard is being drafted for the cabinet's consideration, said a senior government official.

A similar plan was approved last week for the near-defunct Central Inland Water Transport Corp. (CIWTC), another Kolkata-based company. To be sure, the West Bengal government may not be too enamoured of the asset-sale plans, particularly since it has a prickly relationship with the Central government.

Hooghly Dock is among seven companies identified for revival through disinvestment or a JV. "These are locked up assets and government is paying salaries for nothing.

We want to incentivize people to opt for retirement with a better severance package," a senior government official said. The government feels Hooghly Dock has enough assets to attract private sector investors even though it has built just two ships in last four years.

Kolkata Port Trust has already engaged HR Wallingford of London for suggesting measures to improve the draft at Hooghly Dock as well reducing dredging costs, which will add to attractiveness of the company as an investment target.

In October 2011, the government had given in-principle approval for rehabilitation cum restructuring of Hooghly Dock through a joint venture with a private company selected through open bidding process that was launched in 2013. It also approved writing off of government loans and interest payments amounting to Rs 629 crore as of March 31, 2011.

Three companies submitted expressions of interest on forming a JV— Shalimar Works, Titagarh Wagons and Bharti Shipyard. However, a report by Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services (IL&FS) suggested that unless staff numbers were cut, the government would have to continue funding the company and it would not be able to bring down its stake.

The government is targeting to halve Hooghly Dock's 380 employees through an improved staff-reduction package, which has better severance terms than the earlier plan, according to the official cited above. It then plans to cut its stake to 26% from 100% by taking on a private partner.

The company has two units, one at Salkia and the other at Nazirgunge, both in Howrah district. The Modi government has said it wants to exit lossmaking government ventures and allow them to be managed profitably and professionally.

In 2011, the government approved grants-in-aid assistance of Rs 21crore for Hooghly Dock to implement VRS, apart from a loan of Rs 16 crore for working capital and non-plan assistance for salaries and meeting statutory liabilities until formation of a joint venture.

Company Overview of Hooghly Dock & Port Engineers Limited

Hooghly Dock & Port Engineers Limited, a shipyard company, engages in ship building and repairing in India. It constructs a range of vessels, such as marine crafts, barges, tugs, dredgers, floating dry docks, fire floats, fishing trawlers, landing crafts, coasters, and grab hopper and surface dredgers, as well as light house tender, inland and ocean going, oil pollution control, offshore patrol, multipurpose-cum-buoy handling, and passenger vessels. Hooghly Dock & Port Engineers Limited was formerly known as Hooghly Docking & Engineering Company Limited. The company was founded in 1819 and is based in Kolkata, India.

Hooghly Dock & Port Engineers Limited

Ship Building

The Company has two units ideally located at Salkia and Nazirgunge on the bank of River Hooghly in the city of Howrah and well connected with Kolkata. Both these units have the required infrastructure and potential for construction of various types of vessels, viz. Tugs, Dredgers, Floating Drydock, Fire Float, Fishing Trawlers, grab Hopper and Surface Dredgers, Light House Tender Vessels, Oil Pollution Control Vessel, Passenger Vessel etc.

Repair & Support

Our ship repair division with its Drydock at our Salkia Works – an ISO 9001 unit (Drydock measuring 94 M X 13.4 M x 8.6 M deep) & with facilities like Jetties, Building Slipways / Berths / Wet Basin, Cranes etc, we are well equipped to undertake repairs of any size vessels / marine crafts to the fullest satisfaction of customers. We also have facilities to undertake emergency repair jobs at Kidderpore and Haldia.

Joint Venture

The Company has two units ideally located at Salkia and Nazirganj on the bank of River Hooghly in the city of Howrah (in the State of West Bengal, India), which is well connected with city of Kolkata. Both these units of HDPEL have the required infrastructure and potential for construction of various types of vessels, viz. Tugs, Dredgers, Floating Drydock, Fire Float, Fishing Trawlers, grab Hopper and Surface Dredgers, Light House Tender Vessels, Oil Pollution Control Vessel, Passenger Vessel etc.