Hyundai Heavy Industries is likely to win an order to build nine liquefied natural gas carriers to be commissioned by GAIL Ltd. of India.
That's because Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently visited the company's headquarters in Ulsan as part of a state visit to Korea in May and a company sales executive met with the Indian Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas.
According to foreign news reports and shipbuilding industry sources on August 5, delegates of Hyundai Heavy Industries met with the Indian Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on the 3rd to discuss the possibility of building the LNG vessels.
A shipbuilding industry official said, "Even though it will take a lot of time until the agreement is signed, it is highly likely that Hyundai will get the job."
The value of the LNG carrier project is estimated at 423.7 billion rupees (US$6.65 billion). Once GAIL selects shipping companies to carry LNG produced in the United States to India for 20 years from 2017, the shipping companies will in turn select shipbuilding companies for the carriers. The amount of money shipbuilders can receive is estimated at $200 million per ship or $1.8 billion in total.
GAIL had posted bidding notices four times but was unable to find bidders. It was because of the condition that at least three ships be built in a shipyard within India as part of the Indian government's manufacturing industry nurturing drive.
