The Hindu Business Line : `Work on Sethusamudram project may start in June'

DREDGING work for the Sethusamudram Ship Canal Project is expected to commence in the third week of June, according to Mr T.R. Baalu, Union Minister of Shipping and Road Transport.

On Thursday, the Union Cabinet had cleared the Rs 2,424-crore project that envisages dredging of a canal across the Palk Straits between India and Sri Lanka.

The dredging quantity of 82.5 million cubic metre in a length of 167 km would go on for three years.

Sethusamudram Corporation Ltd, a special purpose vehicle created to implement the project, is expected to start making profits from the 13th year of the canal's operation, he told newspersons on Friday.

There will not be any negative impact of the project. There will, however, be some inconveniences during the implementation. "We have also clarified on various issues, including environment, raised by a couple of Sri Lankan delegations," he said.

Mr N.K. Raghupathy, Chairman of Tuticorin Port Trust and also for Sethusamudram Corporation, said 3,055 vessels would pass through the canal in 2008.

A detailed report on the canal prepared for the project by L&T Ramboll Consulting Engineers Ltd has recommended considering 10 metre draft vessels to pass through the canal.

Even though the worldwide trend indicates the preference for building larger vessels, there has been an increase of about 5 per cent annually in the number of vessels of size up to 30,000 dead weight tonnes (DWT) in the last 20 years.

Also, with the draft restriction of 10 metre in the canal, there could be a growth in the number of ships specially built for the purpose passing through the canal, which may be called as "Sethu Max" similar to Panamax or Suezmax vessels after the development of Panama and Suez canals, the report said.

On the Golden Quadrilateral project — 5,846 km connecting Delhi-Kolkata-Chennai-Mumbai — Mr Baalu said only 92 per cent of work would be completed by this year-end.

The balance could not completed due to problems such as land acquisition in States such as Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Maharashtra, West Bengal and Jharkhand.

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