Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL) has signed an agreement with the Dredging Corporation of India (DCI) on Thursday to build India’s largest Dredger in collaboration with IHC Holland. The Contract for the project, which is pointed as a major step under the Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative was signed by CMD, CSL and MD, DCI in the presence of Hon’ble Union Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways Shri Sarbananada Sonowal and His Excellency Marten van-den Berg., the Ambassador of Netherlands to India.
The contract for the construction of the 12,000 m3 Trailing Suction Hopper Dredger (TSHD) is a culmination of the efforts of the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways to bring in ‘best-in-class’ global technology into India under the Aatmanirbhar Bharat initiative.
Shri. Shripad Naik, Hon’ble Minister of State for Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Shri. Shantanu Thakur, Hon’ble Minister of State for Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Shri. Amitabh Kant IAS, CEO, Niti Aayog, Dr. Sanjeev Ranjan IAS, Secretary, Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Shri. Sanjay Bandopadhyaya IAS, Chairman, IWAI as well as senior officials of CSL, DCI and IHC Holland attended the event.
Hitherto, all TSHD dredgers owned and operated by DCI were procured from foreign countries. This is a landmark moment in the history of Ship Building of our Country. “Building a 12,000 m3 Dredger in India is a big step forward in our push for Aatmanirbharta. This will also be a big boost to the Port led development plan of the GoI. I wish CSL, DCI and IHC Holland all the best for successful completion of the project” said Shri. Sarbananda Sonowal, Union Minister.
“We are truly honoured at the trust and belief that has been placed on CSL by the Ministry for this ambitious ‘Make in India’ endeavour. CSL is happy to associate with DCI and IHC to engineer and build the largest dredger for the country. We assure that we will deliver a world-class dredger to the nation” said Madhu S Nair, CMD CSL. The vessel of length 127 Mtr. and breadth 28 Mtrs is based on the globally acclaimed “Beagle” platform of IHC. It will be customised to meet all Indian requirements. This asset with an overall project cost of around Rs 950Cr. is envisaged to impart significant capability enhancement for DCI and will be a great enabler for the Port led development initiative of the Govt. of India.
