Cochin Shipyard to build India’s largest dredger for Dredging Corporation

New Delhi: 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 CSL's CMD and DCI's MD in the presence of Union Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways 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 Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways to bring in 'best-in-class' global technology into India under the Aatmanirbhar Bharat initiative.

Minister of State for Ports, Shipping and Waterways Shripad Naik, Minister of State for Ports, Shipping and Waterways Shantanu Thakur, Niti Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant, Ports, Shipping and Waterways Secretary Dr Sanjeev Ranjan (IAS) and IWAI Chairman Sanjay Bandopadhyaya (IAS) 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 the 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 Government. I wish CSL, DCI and IHC Holland all the best for successful completion of the project," said Sarbananda.

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 you that we will deliver a world-class dredger to the nation" said CSL CMD Madhu S Nair.

The vessel of length 127 meter and breadth 28 meter 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 950 crore. 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.

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