New Delhi, March 17. Dredging Corporation of India today signed a historic ship building agreement with Cochin Shipyard Limited for building state-of-the-art dredgers. IHC Holland is the technology partner of this project.
An official press release hailed the agreement as the first Make in India Project for construction of Beagle Series 12 Trailing Suction Hopper Dredger of 12000 Cubic Meter capacity. The agreement was signed in the presence of Union Minister of Ports Shipping & Waterways & Ayush Shri Sarbananda Sonowal, MoS Shri Shripad Naik, and Secretary for Ports, Shipping and Waterways Dr Sanjeev Ranjan .
Speaking on the occasion Mr. Sarbananda Sonowal said the ministry noting the importance of dredging for operation of ports has issued Dredging Guidelines for Major Ports. He said the need for sufficient dredgers is of utmost importance for timely completion of dredging and the new dredgers would be able to bring in the much needed efficiency and timely completion of dredging. He said this in turn would enable smooth operation of vessels.
Mr. Sonowal said the dredger built under the ‘Atma Nirbhar Bharat’ concept is one of the largest initiatives under Atmanirbhar Bharat and is a true reflection of international collaboration for Make in India. He said the Ministry under the guidance of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi would be able to fulfil the objectives of the Maritime India Vision, 2030 with well equipped dredgers for operation of ports to bring down logistic cost of the cargo.
Pointing out the role of IHC Holland, which is the technology partner for this project, the minister stated that this Ship Building Agreement is a very good example of Indo-Dutch collaboration in the Make in India initiative and in strengthening the long-standing maritime relationship between the two countries.
Appreciating the initiatives of Cochin Shipyard Limited in technologically high end vessel building segment, the Minister stated this new dredger construction project is another major step for CSL in this directions which allows the company to leverage its technological prowess and prepare the ground to “Make In India for the World”.