New Delhi: Stepping towards the first Make in India project, Dredging Corporation of India signed a shipbuilding agreement for the construction of the first Beagle Series 12 trailing suction hopper dredger of 12,000 cubic metre capacity at Cochin Shipyard Limited on Thursday.

Speaking on the occasion Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal 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. Sonowal said the Ministry would be able to fulfill the objectives of the Maritime India Vision, 2030 with well-equipped dredgers for the operation of ports to bring down the logistic cost of the cargo.

Sonowal said that the Ministry is working hard to achieve the goals towards 'waste-to-wealth' initiative. He said the Ministry has issued dredging guidelines at major ports to ensure that the dredge material has to be taken up for recycling and reuse based on scientific study. This will enable to employ sustainable dredging disposal mechanism and promote waste to wealth.

He lauded the initiative of Cochin Port Trust which has been able to extract the dredged material and earn precious revenue by auction of dredge material. He stated that Paradip Port has been utilizing 1 million cubic metre of dredged material for reclamation of land for Numaligarh Refinery Ltd. Further, the Visakhapatnam Port and the Jawaharlal Nehru Port has been using part of dredged material for beach nourishment.

Dredging Corporation of India Limited (DCIL), Visakhapatnam is a listed dredging company in India catering to the dredging and allied services to major ports, Indian Navy, fishing harbours and other maritime organizations.