A Project that was under Long Scrutiny - Sethu Samudram Ship Canal
Project
Last year, on March 13, 2003, after a prolonged delay, the Central
Government
headed by Vajpayee gave the green signal for the multi-crore Sethu
Samudram
project, providing a navigational route through construction of a canal
near
the Palk Straits linking the East and West coasts. The then NDA
government
announced that "they were committed to undertaking the Sethu Samudram
project
and completing it in a time-bound manner.'' The project involves
excavating and
deepening a canal near Rameswaram island to connect Palk Strait and the
Gulf of
Mannar to facilitate movement of ships. The draught would be about 7 m.
Everyone agrees that this project would provide better connectivity
between our
eastern and western coasts without going around Sri Lanka, thereby
reducing the
travel distance by about 350-400 nautical miles and 36 hours of
shiptime.
Sethu Samudram Canal project envisages widening and deepening about 1.2
km
distance between Talai Mannar and Rameshwaram thereby enabling big
ships and
boats to navigate through the Mannar gulf, Palk straits and Bay of
Bengal
directly instead of circling around Sri Lanka as it happens at present.
The
idea is to construct a 300 $ million US dollar canal like the Suez or
Panama
after attendant dredging. The estimates carried out by our Central
Government
show that even if 30 ships use the canal every day, the project will be
more
than viable. Even in the Tuticorin-Paradip stretch, the canal will
result in a
saving of 474 nautical miles. It is assessed that shipping lines can
save
anywhere between Rs. 4 lakhs to Rs. 8 lakhs in a trip and even if a
ship is
charged Rs. one lakh, it will be a viable venture.
The Sethu Samudram
project
would galvanize Indian shipping as ships from the West Coast and East
Coast
could move to and from their respective zones through the cheaper and
shorter
sea routes. This could lead to development of several Indian ports
including
Tuticorin, Nagapattinam and Rameshwaram. An adverse consequence for Sri
Lanka
would be the de-valuation of Colombo, Galle and Trincomalee but this
could be
off set by the development of Talai Mannar, Kankesanthurai and Point
Pedro.
Ironically this project is on the shelves for more than 140 years.
Thankfully
now it is under active scrutiny. One reason that was slowing down this
project
could be the security situation in Sri Lanka. The LTTE Sea Tigers
dominate
that triangular stretch of waters extending from Kalpitiya to
Mullaitheevu. The
other reasons are technical feasibility, the concerns of fishermen in
the
region, and the concerns on environmental impact of this project.
Also, there
is a threat that we may have to shift to excavation of rocks to deepen
the sea
in case if our recent decision to deepen the sea by excavation of sand
heaps
does not suffice. Also, there are fears that before the project is
implemented,
the ships hitting against the rocks should be completely eliminated.
Recently, after the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government headed
by
Manmohan Singh took over, this project got further impetus. The Union
Minister
for Shipping, Road Transport and Highways, T.R. Baalu, informed that he
is
prepared to look at different methods of financing the Sethusamudram
project so
that funds constraint does not stand in the way of the project being
executed.
He even went ahead and asked the Tuticorin port authorities to submit
an
application for environment clearance in June this year. This project
expected
to cost more than Rs 1200 crore. It is contemplated that this project
be taken
up in phases and be taken up on a build-operate-transfer basis. Another
plan is
also being evaluated that a special purpose vehicle could be floated
with
ports on the east coast of India taking up to 51 per cent equity (as
they would
benefit from the project) and the balance with private parties.
The National Environmental Engineering Research Institute, engaged for
a
techno-economic study, has completed an environmental management program on
averting or minimizing the damages to marine wealth during the
implementation
of the project Twenty-one islands forming the National Marine Park and
facilitating fish breeding the canal region would not be affected as
the sea
route is set 6-21 km away. Further, deepening is needed only in shallow
regions. The project could be started by 2005. A 300-metre wide canal
would be
dug after dredging of 32 million cubic metre sand (Reference: Press
Interview
by N.K. Raghupathy, Chairman, Tuticorin Port Trust).
In the next part of this article, we would review the entire
history/fact sheet
of this project. We would also critically review the fears expressed
and the
merits of the implementation strategy that has been planned.
contd>>>>
