Reliance to set up Rs. 5,000-crore naval shipbuilding unit near Vizag

Reliance Group, led by billionaire Anil Ambani, will set up a naval ship-building facility near Visakhapatnam at a cost of Rs. 5,000 crore. It is the single biggest investment in Andhra Pradesh after its bifurcation.

A memorandum of understanding to build the facility was signed between Reliance ADA Group Chairman, Anil Ambani and AP Chief Minister, N. Chandrababu Naidu, at the CII Partnership Summit and Sunrise AP Investment Meet on Sunday.

Reliance will establish the facility at Rambilli, about 70 km from here, Mr. Ambani said.

This represents single largest investment by any company at one location anywhere in Andhra Pradesh. Indian Navy is estimated to spend over Rs. three lakh crore per year on acquisitions and fleet modernisation of submarines and aircraft carriers over the next 15 years creating large opportunities to address critical naval requirements under Make in India initiative.

The proposed facility would generate thousands of skilled jobs, Mr. Ambani said. The support ecosystem that would develop around this facility will bring in further investments of anywhere between Rs.5,000 crore to 10,000 crore and additional jobs.

The facility aims to be the best in the world in terms of technology, resources and manufacturing practices, he said. It is expected to complement Reliance Group's existing facility at Pipavav, in Gujarat, with a clear focus on building strategic assets for the Indian Navy. It will help translate ‘Make in India’ into ‘Make in Andhra Pradesh’ and push the state to be among the top makers of defence products, Mr. Ambani said.

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Anil Ambani, Spielberg join hands to form Amblin Partners

The Anil Ambani-owned Reliance Entertainment and acclaimed Hollywood director Steven Spielberg’s DreamWorks on Thursday announced formation of Amblin Partners — a new film, television and digital content creation company.

Participant Media led by Jeff Skoll and Entertainment One (eOne), a leading US-based media company, are also part of the joint venture.

“Together with Reliance Entertainment and DreamWorks Pictures, they will work closely with Amblin Partners to develop and produce specific content for the new venture, in addition to exploring opportunities for co-productions and other content,” the company said in a statement here.

Amblin Partners has a mandate to develop and produce films using Amblin, DreamWorks Pictures and Participant banners as well as Amblin Television, a long-time leader in quality programming.

Spielberg, announcing the joint venture, said, “We are honored to continue our long-term association with our dear friend, Anil Ambani and his team at Reliance. We have had the opportunity to develop and produce wonderful films, thanks to their ongoing support.”

Anil Ambani said, “We are delighted to continue our now seven-year-strong relationship with our valued partner, Steven Spielberg and extend this alliance to the formation of Amblin Partners with Jeff Skoll. We look forward to the combination of Steven’s passion and integrity with Jeff’s unique socially-conscious vision to create uplifting and quality content to entertain global audiences.”

DreamWorks Studios and Participant Media have collaborated on many Academy Award-nominated films such as ‘Lincoln’ and ‘The Help’ as well as the critically-acclaimed ‘The Hundred-Foot Journey’, and the recently released ‘Bridge of Spies.’

Amblin Partners’ film projects at various stages of production include ‘The BFG’, and ‘The Light Between Oceans’, scheduled for release by Disney in 2016; ‘The Girl on the Train’, (October 2016); ‘A Dog’s Purpose’ (first quarter of 2017) and ‘Ready Player One’, a co-production between Amblin Partners and Warner Bros Pictures, which is scheduled to be released in December of 2017.

Upcoming shows from Amblin TV include ‘All the Way’, an HBO movie directed by Jay Roach and starring Bryan Cranston, with an air date to be announced shortly; and ‘American Gothic’, a summer series that will air on CBS and begin production in February 2016.

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