Dredging Corp to acquire smaller dredgers

The state-owned Dredging Corporation of India Ltd (DCI) has decided to go in for dredgers having smaller capacity to handle works required for greenfield minor sea ports across the country. It has put on its drawing board a capital expenditure programme involving an investment of about Rs 200 crore.

"We plan to invest a major portion of our proposed capital expenditure for acquiring two or three dredgers with smaller capacity. These dredgers will be ideal to handle dredging works required for development of minor sea ports," Neerav Kumar Gupta, chairman and managing director, DCI, told Business Standard.

The company is also, for the first time, acquiring a survey vessel. "Before we take up any dredging work, we have to undertake survey works. As we do not have a survey vessel, we have to depend on private consultancy firms which involve significant expenditure from our part. In order to avoid this, we are planning to have a survey vessel of our own," Gupta said.

DCI is awaiting the draft corporate plan that is being prepared by an internationally-reputed consultancy firm. It has initiated the process for a new corporate strategy. Earlier, the company used to get maintenance dredging contracts from all major ports on nomination basis, with this sector accounting for over 85 per cent of its total turnover. But after the sector was opened up, DCI has to compete with both domestic and foreign players.

"In order to counter this competition in the domestic market and extend our reach in the overseas dredging market, we have initiated the process to chalk out a new corporate strategy. We expect to get the draft report soon," Gupta said.