The Hindu Business Line : NMPT to conduct seminar on dredging tomorrow

Speaking to newspersons on Wednesday, the NMPT Chairman, Mr P. Tamilvanan, said that various organisations and institutions connected with dredging operations would discuss issues related to capital and maintenance dredging practices in the major ports during the seminar.

Mr Ravi Budhiraja, Chairman of Indian Ports Association and Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust, will be the chief guest at the inaugural function.

Mr A.K. Bhalla, Joint Secretary (Ports), Mr Neerav Gupta, Chairman and Managing Director of Dredging Corporation of India Ltd, and Mr Suresh Kevalramani of Jaisu Shipping Company Pvt Ltd, will be present on the occasion.

Experts from National Institute of Oceanography, Goa; National Institute of Ocean Technology, Chennai; National Institute of Technology Karnataka, Mangalore; and New Mangalore Port, will present papers at the seminar.

Stating that capital dredging involves large capital outlays in most of the port development projects, Mr Tamilvanan said that it is more than 50 per cent in some of the projects.

During the Tenth Plan, the total capital and maintenance dredging proposed to be carried out are 144 million cubic metres and 320 million cubic metres respectively.

The total quantity of maintenance dredging carried out annually in Indian major ports is in the order of 60 million cubic metres, involving an expenditure of Rs 500 crore.

Mr Tamilvanan said that such a seminar is being organised for the first time when both capital and maintenance dredging are in progress at New Mangalore Port.

Work on capital dredging at the multi-purpose deep-draught berth has been awarded to Jaisu Shipping, and on-maintenance dredging at other berths to Dredging Corporation of India.