Dredging Corporation of India (DCI) is keen to tap business opportunities in the Middle East, South East Asia and South Asian markets, its MD and CEO Durgesh Kumar Dubey said. The company also looks to grab opportunities in the domestic market where players like AMNS India, JSW Group and Adani Group are looking to expand their port operations which would need maintenance, he said, addressing Dredging Conclave 2025 in the national capital.
Dredgers are special vessels used for deepening and broadening sea coasts, river sides and canals by removing sand.
“As a dredging company, I will not be limited only to India. There is an acute fleet shortage in whole of Middle East and South East Asia and South Asia. And now when many ports are coming up and particularly when industries are coming up, the demand (dredging) is very high,” Dubey, an IRTS officer of the 2006 batch, said.
There are also immense opportunities in the domestic market as well. Various business houses are present in the port sector which is on a growth trajectory on a major push by the government-led initiatives like Sagarmala Programme.
Recently PM Narendra Modi inaugurated Vizhinjam International Seaport in Kerala — the deep-water port, developed by Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd (APSEZ).
Steel maker AMNS India is coming with a 20 MT manufacturing plant in Andhra Pradesh with a captive port which will definitely require maintenance dredging. In the same way, JSW is coming up with its port in Orissa. Another port is coming near Mangalore, the official said.
“So now these industries, they want their own port because they want to export and import. So there is a definitely huge demand for this,” Dubey said.
Another area where the company sees opportunities is dams and reservoirs, he added. Based in Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh, Dredging Corporation of India Limited (DCI) 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).