NEW DELHI: Defence minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday virtually laid the foundation stones for five brownfield expansion projects of Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE) and Yantra India Ltd in West Bengal, with a combined investment of nearly Rs 3,500 crore.Singh laid the foundation stones from Kolkata in the presence of West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari. The projects include three facilities of GRSE and two of Yantra India.Addressing the event, Singh said the projects would support industrial development in the state.“The state will take steps to usher in a new renaissance of development. The news of closures and lockouts of factories in West Bengal has now been replaced by the launch of new projects,” he said.As part of its capacity expansion plans, GRSE has signed lease agreements with Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port, Kolkata (SMPK) for two small shipyards located on either bank of the Hooghly, along with a 32-acre riverside property at Raichak, a company official said.The facilities are expected to expand GRSE’s capabilities in warship construction and refit, according to the official.“These projects will strengthen the capabilities of GRSE, while supporting the revival of West Bengal’s industrial ecosystem through employment generation and increased opportunities for ancillary industries, particularly MSMEs,” he said.Singh also said India was capable of emerging as a global shipbuilding hub and that the current situation in the international shipbuilding industry presented an opportunity for the country.The projects are part of efforts to expand industrial and defence manufacturing capacity in West Bengal, with the GRSE facilities focused on strengthening the state’s role in warship construction and refit.