The Hindu Business Line : Jaisu Shipping to begin dredging project in Iraq

THE Kandla-based Jaisu Shipping, one of the leading dredging companies in the Indian private sector, is all set to commence its maintenance dredging operations in the Umm Qasr port in Iraq soon.

Though the company had bagged the contract for the work in Iraq a year ago, it had opted out from commencing the work in view of the uncertainty prevailing over there.

"Now we feel that the situation is improving and there will not be any problem to start the work," Mr Suresh G. Kewalramani, Chairman and Managing Director told Business Line.

"Indians are always welcome in Iraq and there is opposition against only those companies coming through other routes," he added.

Jaisu, he said had obtained a 2-year contract through Miller Dredging Inc of the US for deepening the channel from seven metres to 12 metres. The amount of the two-year dredging contract will be to the tune of Rs 400 crore.

A 70-member team from Jaisu would be leaving for Iraq by the middle of August and the work is expected to commence in September. The company would be deploying Kamal XXVI, a bucket dredger, for the operations.

The entire staff would be in the dredger itself and there would not be any shore office for the company, he added.

Referring to the upcoming projects in various Indian ports, the CMD said that the company is in the race for bagging contracts for dredging operations in Kandla, New Mangalore and also in Dahej in Gujarat for the proposed LNG Terminal this year.

All these proposals are still in the tendering process and the total amount involved is to the tune of Rs135 crore.

It had also participated in the tenders floated by Indian Navy for maintenance dredging in Kochi and Mumbai in the channel before the Naval area. The tenders would be opened in 10 days and the total amount involved is to the tune of Rs 30 crore, he said.