Anil Ambani, Reliance Group chairman, has been making headlines for the past few months for several reasons. His companies such as Reliance Infrastructure and Reliance Power are bouncing back as they reduced their debts significantly. The 65-year-old also continues to fight despite many challenges in his businesses. Now, his flagship firm Reliance Infrastructure Ltd is set to invest Rs 10,000 crore over the next 10 years in a new defence project.
The company will set up India's largest integrated project in Ratnagiri in Maharashtra for the manufacturing of explosives, ammunition, and small arms. The company has been allotted 1,000 acres of land in the Watad Industrial Area of Ratnagiri, Maharashtra to develop Dhirubhai Ambani Defence City (DADC), the firm said in a statement. "DADC will be the largest greenfield project in the defence sector in India by any private sector company," it said.
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R-Infra joins the likes of Tata Group, Adani and Larsen & Toubro for defence manufacturing. "Reliance Infrastructure will invest over Rs 10,000 crore over the next 10 years," the statement said. "Reliance Infrastructure through its subsidiaries has exported defence equipment worth more than Rs 1,000 crore over a period of time." Reliance Infra currently has a market cap of Rs 10073 crore.
Its wholly-owned subsidiaries Jai Armaments Ltd and Reliance Defence Ltd already have licenses from the government for manufacturing of arms and ammunition. The project envisions potential joint ventures with up to six leading global defence companies and will include a wide range of ammunition, from small to large calibres, as well as terminally guided munitions (TGM).
The small arms portfolio will cater to export markets for both civil and military applications. The statement did not reveal the names of joint venture partners. R-Infra already has joint ventures with French defence firms Dassault Aviation and Thales.
(With inputs from PTI)
