The Hindu Business Line : Paradip to float tenders for dredging soon

The value of the work is estimated at Rs 133 crore and the volume about 15 million cubic metres and the job has to be executed within 12 months from the day of the award of the contract.

"We intend to award the contract by August this year," a spokesman for the port told Business Line.

The PPT had sought the view of the Shipping Ministry as to how it should go about awarding the contract — through limited tender or global tender or to Dredging Corporation of India on nomination basis?

However, the finalisation of the guidelines in regard to award of dredging contracts in major ports, it is now felt, will make the job easier for PPT. Under the new guidelines announced on Monday, PPT will be able to award the contract through a competitive bidding process. There will be no compulsion to award the job to DCI, unless the state-owned dredging company is found good enough for it through the competitive bidding process.

It might be noted that DCI, being a state-owned company, has so far enjoyed the privilege of securing orders on nomination basis, but only in respect of maintenance dredging in major ports. The capital dredging has always remained open for competitive bidding to private and foreign firms.

The deepening of the channel is to immediately benefit the Paradip port's two mechanised coal berths currently having an average draught of 12.5 metres. On deepening, the draught is to exceed 14 metres, enough to handle coal ships of 75,000-dwt capacity with full load.

Right now, ships of 67,000-dwt capacity can call at the berths.

It is important that the PPT starts handling large capacity coal vessels as early as possible, to help Ennore port, which is the unloading port of the coal vessels loaded at Paradip.

Now, the draught at Ennore coal berth is deep enough to handle 75,000-dwt vessels. Which means the mismatch must go at the earliest. The deepening of the channel, it is pointed out, will also help the port handle larger capacity coking coal vessels.

More importantly, the port will be in a position to have built a deep draught iron ore berth — a berth with an average draught of 17 metres capable of handling full-load dry bulk carriers of the capacity of more than 1,00,000 dwt.

"We would like to have the deep draught iron ore berth built on BOT basis," the spokesman added.