DCIL Mulls Global Tenders For Charter Dredgers

Visakhapatnam: Faced with the daunting task of completing a flood of orders, Dredging Corporation of India Limited (DCIL) is contemplating to charter dredgers through global tenders and seek the support from the Government of India by getting funds under Sagarmala or a soft loan.

The multi-pronged approach has become a necessity as the aging fleet has posed the challenge of quality of work as well as sticking to the timelines to complete the orders. “We are planning to hire a couple of world-class dredgers and also explore seeking finance from multilateral institutes like IFC or Asian Development Bank with the support of the Union Government,” DCIL Chairman Dr M Angamuthu told Bizz Buzz in an exclusive interview.

DCIL at present has several orders for regular dredging at Kolkata, Paradeep, Cochin and Navi Mumbai Ports and from Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI). As one of the largest companies in India’s dredging sector, DCIL commands over 80 per cent of the maintenance dredging market share for the major ports. Dr Angamuthu,an Assam cadre IAS officer who is also the Chairman of Visakhapatnam Port Authority (VPA), said DCIL, the Visakhapatnam-headquartered company has received a several orders for dredging in the tributaries of Brahmaputra and Ganges as well as orders for coastal dredging and desilting of rivers and dams.