Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL) signed an agreement with Dredging Corporation of India (DCI) on Thursday to build India’s largest dredger, in collaboration with IHC Holland.
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The contract for the project, which is a major step under the Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative, was signed by CSL chairman and managing director Madhu S. Nair and DCI managing director in the presence of Sarbananada Sonowal, Union Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways, and Marten van-den Berg, the Ambassador of the Netherlands in India.
The contract for the construction of the 12,000-cubic-metre Trailing Suction Hopper Dredger (TSHD) is a culmination of efforts by the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways to bring in ‘best-in-class’ global technology into India under the Aatmanirbhar Bharat initiative.
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Hitherto, all TSHD dredgers owned and operated by DCI were procured from foreign countries. “Building India’s largest dredger within the country is big step forward in our push for Aatmanirbhar Bharat. It will also be a big boost to the port-led development plan of the Centre,” Mr. Sonowal said.
“We are truly honoured by the trust placed on CSL by the Ministry for this ambitious Make in India endeavour. CSL is happy to associate with DCI and IHC to engineer and build the largest dredger in the country. We assure that we will deliver a world-class dredger,” the CSL CMD said.
The 127-metre-long, 28-metre-wide vessel is based on the globally acclaimed ‘Beagle’ platform of IHC. It will be customised to meet all Indian requirements. The asset at an overall project cost of around ₹950 crore is envisaged to impart significant capability enhancement to DCI and will be a great enabler for the port-led development initiative of the Centre, said a release from the shipyard.
Amitabh Kant, Chief Executive Officer, Niti Aayog; Sanjeev Ranjan, Secretary, Ports, Shipping and Waterways, and Sanjay Bandopadhyaya, Chairman Inland Waterways Authority of India, were among those present.