Date:18/10/2005 URL: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2005/10/18/stories/2005101801710700.htm

Back Sethusamudram project: Four global companies short-listed for dredging

Raja Simhan T.E.

Chennai , Oct. 17

FOUR international companies have been shortlisted to undertake three legs of dredging the Rs 2,427-crore Sethusamudram Ship Canal Project.

The companies are Jan De Nul of Belgium and Boskalis International of the Netherlands (both have jointly bid for the project), Hyundai Engineering of Korea, Dredging International and Van Oord (both are Dutch companies), Mr N. K. Raghupathy, Chairman and Managing Director, Sethusamudram Corporation Ltd, a special purpose vehicle implementing the project, told Business Line.

The company will place orders in the first week of November, said Mr Raghupathy, who is also Chairman, Tuticorin Port Trust, which is the nodal agency implementing the project.

The project envisages dredging of a 167-km channel along the Palk Straits, the Palk Bay and Adam's Bridge between Sri Lanka and India to connect the Bay of Bengal and the Gulf of Mannar. This would enable ships take a shorter route between the two countries instead of having to sail around Sri Lanka.

Dredging for project involves four legs, out of which one has been entrusted to the Dredging Corporation of India on nomination basis. The remaining three legs to be executed by three companies is being finalised on the basis of a global tender. The three companies would undertake the dredging works simultaneously, he said.

The project involves dredging up about 82.5 million cubic metres of soil, which is expected to take about 30 months. The Dredging Corporation would dredge 13 million cubic metres, he said. "Our target is to see the first commercial ship pass through the canal on January 1, 2008," he said.