The Hindu Business Line : Capital dredging slowly attracting domestic players

While the capital dredging requirement in the country is set for a big jump, there are not many dredging firms around to cash in on the projected boom in the dredging sector, according to informed sources.

The country’s biggest dredging firm, the state-owned Dredging Corporation of India (DCI), has traditionally been engaged mainly in maintenance dredging, not so much in capital dredging. Of late, it has started venturing into capital dredging.

For example, it is now engaged in capital dredging in Sethusamudram project. It will soon start undertaking similar jobs at Paradip, Visakhapatnam and several other major ports.

The only private sector dredging firm that has undertaken some dredging jobs in various ports is Jaisu Shipping.

There are a few other much smaller firms but ill-equipped to handle the kind of jobs being projected for the port sector.

However, a few big names such as Essar, Reliance and Sical are now being heard as new entrants in the field.

Foreign majors

The foreign dredging majors which traditionally dominated the country’s capital dredging scene are now by and large active in private ports whose number is steadily increasing.

This is presumably because the Government, for whatever reasons, find these firms unsuitable for undertaking dredging in various State-owned projects.

The dredging at Sethusamudram project is a case in point.

The project’s dredging requirement is huge for which several foreign firms did bid. But then the Government finally settled for DCI.

The capital dredging requirement under the Kolkata port’s River Regulatory Scheme too, it is estimated, will be substantial.

The scope of the scheme underwent many changes in the past few years and is still awaiting approval of the Government.

The foreign dredging firm that had earlier participated in Hooghly dredging are, it is learnt, not showing interest in the job any more.

Potential

The major ports where massive capital dredging work due to be undertaken include, among others, Kandla, JNPT, Mormugao, Kochi, Tuticorin, Chennai, Ennore Visakhapatnam, Paradip and Kolkata (including Haldia).

The total value of these jobs will run into several thousand crores of rupees.

Besides, the dredging requirement of a number of private ports being set up both on east and west coasts too will be substantial.

The National Waterways too need to be dredged adequately to improve their navigability.

Capping it all, there is a need for maintenance dredging in all these ports, rivers and waterways.

In short, the country’s dredging requirement is huge.

But where are the firms to meet these requirements?