DCI gets central nod to buy 3 dredgers

Cabinet Committee on Infrastructure has approved procurement of three Trailer Suction Hopper Dredgers (TSHDs) of 5000 cubic meter hopper capacity by Dredging Corporation of India (DCIL) from IHC Dredgers BV, The Netherlands.

The proposed procurement will sustain the existing total capacity of the company as the same would replace some of the existing old dredgers which are more than 30 years old and also augment the available capacity to meet the increased dredging requirements.

The total indicative cost for the project is Rs1570.21 crore.

The delivery schedule is 29 months and 35 months ex-yard for the first and second dredger respectively and 41 months ex-yard for the third dredger.

In another development, finance ministry agreed to release the payment due to DCI after it threatened to withdraw its dredgers from Haldia due to non-payment of dues.

The Kolkata Port Trust owed Rs 550 crore to the DCI as an outstanding payment up to 2008 and around Rs 478 crore as a dredging subsidy in 2009-10.