TIL Desk/Business/New Delhi/ India needs to open up its dredging market to boost trade by its major ports which at present cannot handle very large vessels in absence of proper draft depth, government think tank Niti Aayog has said. More competition mainly from global players in dredging activities would help increase and maintain draft depth at ports and attract large vessels, enabling them to become hub ports, the Aayog mentioned.
At present, the Dredging Corporation of India (DCI) and a limited set of private vendors serve the Indian dredging market, limiting competition. “The government needs to open up the dredging market to attract more players, particularly international players, in dredging activities to increase and maintain draft depth at ports to attract large vessels and enable them to become hub ports,” Niti Aayog has said.
Foreign players will be attracted to the market if the government takes measures such as consolidating dredging contracts across cohorts of ports and withdrawing, at least temporarily, the right to first refusal given to Indian vendors, it said.
