Country's largest private shipbuilder ABG Shipyard today said it plans to invest Rs 7,000 crore in Gujarat for setting up a new facility as well as augmenting capacity at two existing units in the state.

"ABG Shipyard announced its intention to build a greenfield shipyard in three phases along the Gujarat coastline with an estimated investment of Rs 5,000 crore," the company said in a statement.

This will be ABG Shipayard's third facility at Gujarat and is likely to generate employment for about 4,500 people, it said.

Apart from the proposed investment, ABG Shipyard has also planned to expand its facilities at Dahej and Magdalla in three phases, with an estimated investment of Rs 2,000 crore, the shipbuilder said.

"The company has submitted its proposal to the state government during the on-going Vibrant Gujarat Global Investors Summit 2013," the company said.

The company's existing Magdalla shipyard at Surat is a world-class manufacturing facility with amenities like a Ship-lift with a lift capacity of 4,500 tonnes, side transfer facilities, Hydraulic press and Steel processing machinery.

The second state-of-the-art facility at Dahej is one of the largest and most modern Shipyards in India with a capacity to build ships upto approx 300 metres in length and 120,000 DWT (Deadweight Tonnage).

DWT is a measure of how much weight a ship is carrying or can safely carry.

On April 18, 2011, ABG launched a 32,000 DWT bulk carrier from the Dahej facility.

ABG Shipyard is the flagship company of the ABG Group and has so far built and delivered more than 160 ships, of different complexities, for domestic and international customers, and enjoys 61st rank among shipyards globally.

Its client base extends to Europe, South East Asia and the Middle East, with over 90 per cent of its existing Order Book comprising export orders.