Mumbai, March 22 (IANS) Infrastructure construction major Larsen & Toubro (L&T) will design and construct 36 high speed interceptor boats worth Rs.970 crore for the Indian Coast Guard, the company announced here Monday.

The contract, awarded by the defence ministry, is one of the initiatives of the government to strengthen coastal security.

The interceptor boats will have aluminium-alloy hull construction with water jet propulsion to enable quick response, necessary for the intended applications, and shall be also crucial for near shore action.

The boats shall be designed in-house at the L&T's Ship Design Centre, a part of its heavy engineering division, and shall be constructed at its existing shipyard at Hazira (in Gujarat) and the new shipyard coming up at Katupalli near Ennore (in Tamil Nadu).

L&T has already been building special purpose vessels and heavy lift ships for export at its Hazira Yard. It is equipped to construct ships upto 20,000 tonnes.