en.Wedoany.com Reported - Indian state-owned shipbuilding company Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders (MDL) announced that it has completed the acquisition of a 51% controlling stake in Colombo Dockyard PLC (CDPLC), marking the official transition of Colombo Dockyard into a subsidiary of the Indian MDL shipyard. 
MDL revealed that the acquisition offer amounted to USD 26.8 million (approximately RMB 180 million), representing the shipyard's first investment in an overseas shipyard. For Colombo Dockyard, this transaction will inject new capital and business opportunities.
Colombo Dockyard's former majority shareholder was Japan's Onomichi Dockyard. With the completion of the acquisition, its board of directors has been restructured: MDL's Chairman and Managing Director, Jagmohan, assumed the role of Non-Executive Chairman of Colombo Dockyard effective April 7, 2026; Thimira S. Godakumbura, the former Managing Director and CEO of Colombo Dockyard, will continue in his position.
According to MDL's plan, the shipyard aims to increase Colombo Dockyard's operating revenue and operating profit by 20% in the current fiscal year. The improved profitability is expected to come from new shipbuilding orders, India-related ship repair business, and stricter operational management.
Regarding India-related ship repair business, on April 7, Colombo Dockyard reached an agreement with Dredging Corporation of India (DCI), making the dockyard the preferred partner for DCI's dry-docking, repair, and maintenance work. Simultaneously, MDL is actively negotiating with The Shipping Corporation of India (SCI) to secure ship repair and conversion projects for Colombo Dockyard. 
It is reported that MDL is a major Indian defense shipyard, established in 1774 and taken over by the Indian government in 1960. It is renowned for building warships, submarines, and destroyers for the Indian Navy and has delivered over 800 vessels. In September 2025, MDL reached an agreement with Cochin Shipyard to jointly invest INR 300 billion in building two new commercial shipyards in India.
Information shows that Colombo Dockyard was established in 1974 and is the largest and only full-service ship repair and building facility in Sri Lanka. It possesses four dry docks, with the largest measuring 263 meters in length and 44 meters in width, capable of constructing various vessels up to 125,000 deadweight tons, including tankers, bulk carriers, and drilling platforms. It is equipped with 1,000 meters of repair quay, gantry cranes, CNC cutting equipment, painting workshops, and other ship repair/building facilities.
In terms of shipbuilding, recently, construction has commenced on the first of two new cable-laying vessels ordered by France's Orange Marine at Colombo Dockyard. The related shipbuilding contract was announced in November 2025, with the total cost of the two new ships approximately USD 150 million. They are scheduled for delivery in 2028 and 2029, reportedly constituting the largest single shipbuilding order in the dockyard's 52-year history.
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