PUNE, June 15: 512 Army Base Workshop, Khadki - the country's biggest, oldest, modern workshops and probably the only facility of its kind in Asia responsible for overhauling tanks T-55 and infantry combat vehicles BMP-I expects to touch the magic figure of refurbishing the 1000th vehicle by the end of this financial year.``We have already exceeded the target of overhauling 800 T-55 tanks having completed 900 tanks from the year 1984 when Project Gulmohar was launched at a cost of around of Rs 232 crore. This would have otherwise cost around Rs 1800 crore,'' Brig R Gossain, commandant and managing director of the workshop told mediapersons here today.The workshop has bagged the prestigious ISO 9002 award for the overhaul and testing of engines of T-55 Armoured Fighting Vehicles. The annual turnover of the workshop is around Rs 250 crore.For the purpose of overhauling tanks, the workshop has plant and machinery which has been procured from Poland during 1987 under this project.Identical facilities are now being established for BMP-I under Project White Lily. The workshop overhauls more than 150 tanks and BMPs annually.Giving details on the overhaul process, Brig Gossain explained that the tank was totally stripped, the various assemblies sent to the respective departments for stripping, overhauling, assembling, testing and finally returned for refitment of the tank at the assembly stage. The hull, meanwhile, is repaired and painted before it is sent to the assembly stage.On an average, a tank requires at least a month to be completely overhauled. The workshop has succeeded to a great extent in indigenising a number of component involved in the entire process of overhaul. Of the 8000-odd components which were earlier imported, the workshop has now drastically brought down this figure to around 120 which are still required to be imported. Around 20 T-55 engines are overhauled every month.Brig Gossain pointed out that at the end of the process, the tank can still lay claim to its original life span minus two years. The normal life of a tank is approximately 8000 kms or 15 years or 8500 hours. While the cost of the engine may go upto Rs 40 lakh, the total cost of a battle tank weighing at least 48 tonnes may go upto Rs two crore.When asked to comment if the workshop would consider the possibility of offering consultancy services or go in for overhauling equipment of other nations, the commandant replied that the heads of armies of two nations had visited the workshop. ``But the final result of this is beyond my scope of jurisdiction,'' he commented.Interestingly, the inception of the workshop dates back to 1853 when it was raised as an arsenal workshop at Bombay and later moved to Khadki in 1900 to repair saddlery and tentage. Since then it has evolved as a nodal agency for overhauling tanks and infantry combat vehicles.
