Dredgers are special
vessels used for deepening and broadening sea coasts and river sides by
removing sand.
In a statement, DCIL said it has signed a memorandum of understanding
(MoU) with BEML for the design, development and manufacturing of dredgers and
its spare parts.
The agreement was
signed between DCIL MD and CEO S Divakar and BEML CMD Shantanu Roy in Bengaluru.
“The organisations would recognise indigenisation as one of the
strategic tools to achieve cost benefits and also complement their strengths to
build a mutually beneficial strong technical base,” the statement said.
The collaboration will extend to the joint study of the potential for
the construction of portable cutter suction dredgers for inland dredging by
BEML and endeavour for cooperation through joint venture/special purpose
vehicles as per the government guidelines.
The production of
dredgers and their spares will reduce dependence on imports.
DCIL is a premier dredging company of India under the administrative
control of four major ports of India — Visakhapatnam Port Authority, Jawaharlal
Nehru Port Authority (Mumbai), Paradip Port Authority and Deendayal Port
Authority (Kandla).