Chennai: Chennai construction firm, Marg Constructions Limited, which is developing a port at Karaikal has acquired the dredger Marg Cauvery for Rs.52 crore.

According to G R K Reddy, managing director, the machine is a non-propelled cutter suction dredger which can dredge at depths in the range of 5 to 25 metres and has a capacity of 2000 cubic metre per hour.

While the dredger will be initially used in the construction of the Karaikal port, Reddy says the machine would also enter the domestic dredging market.

According to him one of the major challenges faced by the port industry is the inadequate draught in the existing ports for handling post panamax and capsize vessels and huge oil tankers.

He said, the National Maritime Development Programme (NMDP) has envisaged substantial investments in dredging/deepening of existing ports. Further several captive and other private sector ports are being developed all along the country''''s long coast enhancing the demand for dredging.

Reddy said the Indian dredging market is estimated at Rs650 crore comprising of Rs600 crore of maintenance dredging and Rs50 crore of capital dredging or dredging for new ports.

Citing the NMDP report, Reddy said the total expenditure earmarked for dredging of all major ports by 2011-12 is estimated to be Rs6304 crore out of the total port development expenditure of Rs55,804 crore.

This translates into a dredging volume of about 500 million cubm over six to seven year period. After taking into account the maintenance dredging (about 60 million cubm), capital dredging in ports being developed by private sector and also in non major ports owned by governments/maritime boards, the total dredging market is estimated to exceed 150 to 160 millon cubm per year.

Reddy said the Indian dredging market is dominated by Dredging Corporation of India Limited and four foreign companies viz Boskalis, Dredging International, Jan De Nul and Van Oord.

The four foreign companies amongst themselves is reported to own about 105 trailer suction hopper dredgers and 83 cutter suction dredgers compared to 10 trailer suction hopper dredgers and 2 cutter suction dredgers owned by Dredging Corporation of India, Reddy added.

The other operators in the dredging industry in India are Dharti, Mercantor, Chellarams and Jaisu.

B G Menon, executive director, Infrastructure said, considering the small number of fleet currently available with the Indian companies the dredging rates are hovering at around 30 to 40 per cent above those prevailing a few years ago.

"This has rendered capital and maintenance dredging exceedingly expensive thereby adversely affecting the development/maintenance of ports in the country. There is a need to augment the dredger fleet size in India," he added.