Entire work for Dredging Corporation

The Tuticorin Port Trust, the nodal agency to implement the Sethusamudram project, has decided to hand over the entire work of executing the project to the Dredging Corporation of India.

It has also started mobilising dredging equipment to the Rameswaram coast to start dredging in the third week of October.

Port Trust Chairman N.K. Raghupathy told The Hindu that the international competitive bids quoted by the foreign companies for three packages of the dredging were higher than the estimated total cost of the project. Moreover, the performance of the Dredging Corporation of India, given the last stage of work (package D), was satisfactory. It had completed six million cubic meters of dredging out of the allotted 13.5 million cubic meters. The DCI would also undertake dredging in the Adams Bridge and the Palk Strait.

Mr. Raghupathy said dredging equipment had started moving to Dhanushkodi. The Port Trust planned to start dredging at the Adams Bridge during the first week of November. However, chances were bright for starting the work in the third week of October. An office established by the Port Trust at Rameswaram had started functioning.

Source: The Hindu