Mumbai-listed Cochin Shipyard Ltd will build two high-end and large-capacity dredgers for Dredging Corporation of India Ltd (DCI) in a deal worth some ₹2,000 crore with an option for a third dredger through a technology collaboration with a Dutch firm as part of the Make in India programme.
The plan to build high-capacity, complex dredgers for the first time locally under the ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ initiative has been approved by the ministry of ports, shipping and waterways, a government official briefed on the matter said.
A memorandum of understanding signed by Cochin Shipyard and Dredging Corporation in February this year envisaged the construction of one dredger.
The two trailing suction hopper dredgers (TSHDs) will have hopper capacity of 12,000 cubic metres each. TSHDs are used to maintain the channel of ports.
State-run Cochin Shipyard and Visakhapatnam-based Dredging Corporation — owned by four government-owned port trusts — are discussing the vessel specifications ahead of signing an agreement soon for building the dredgers.
Construction on the first dredger will start this year and is expected to be completed within 24-30 months, while work on the second dredger is slated to start in 2023.
A final decision on the third dredger would be taken based on a performance analysis of the initial two dredgers.
“The hopper capacity of the third dredger will be finalised based on the gap viability analysis of the market in 2025 to achieve the requirement of dredging at Indian major ports as envisaged in the Maritime India Vision 2030,” the official said.
This will be the first dredgers to be built by Cochin Shipyard at its yard in Cochin following a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed with IHC Holland BV, the world’s largest dredger builder, in November last year for collaboration on technology and design for high-capacity, complex dredgers.
The dredger construction will be funded through a mix of equity from Cochin Shipyard and the four major ports — Visakhapatnam Port Trust, Paradip Port Trust, Deendayal Port Trust and Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust — that are shareholders of DCI, and bank loan.
“Components that go into the construction of dredgers will be sourced from India to the maximum extent possible in line with the Make in India concept,” the official said.
Dredger construction has been identified as a priority area for revenue growth in Cochin Shipyard’s strategy roadmap for 2030.
DCI’s fleet of 10 TSHDs deliver 70-75 per cent of the annual dredging for major Indian ports. As the step towards meeting the increasing demand for dredgers across the country, DCI is planning to expand its fleet with the construction of the high-capacity hopper dredgers.
Source : The Hindu Businessline
