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NT Bureau Chennai, June 16, 2005:
Work on the much-talked-about
Sethusamudram Canal Project is set to commence at last. Prime
Minister Dr.Manmohan Singh will lay the foundation stone for the
Rs 2,424.40 crore project in the first week of July, N C
Raghupathy, managing director of
Sethusamudram Corporation, the special purpose vehicle
set up to implement the project, told a press conference here
yesterday.
‘The venue of the function will
either be Tuticorin, Ramanathapuram or madurai,’ he said.
The UTI Bank would arrange the loan
for the project, which will create a navigable sea link between
India’s east and west coast. The Central government would
contribute Rs 495 crore towards the equity, Tuticorin Port Trust
and Shipping Corporation of India Rs 50 crore each, Port Trusts
of Chennai, Visakhapatnam, Ennore, Paradeep and the Dredging
Corporation of India Rs 30 crore each. The Corporation would
also tap the capital market to raise around Rs 226 crore. The
rest of the project cost would be generated through loans, which
would be guaranteed by the Centre, Raghupathy said.
Fifty per cent of the loan would be
raised through a Rupee loan by exploiting Indian market and the
rest through US dollar loan in the international market, he
said.
Raghupathy said the project would
not have any adverse impact on environment as adequate care had
been taken to avoid environment degradation.
When asked about the Sri Lankan
government’s concern over the project, he said all the
environment concerns raised by the neighbouring nation would be
addressed.
Queried if the Tamil Nadu Pollution
Control Board had cleared the project, Raghupathy said he was
unaware of the details, as the issue was between the Board and
the Ministry.
Sethusamudram Corporation would
sign a Memorandum of Understanding with the Suez Canal
authority, which would provide technical expertise for
constructing and maintaining the Sethusamudram canal, he said.
Raghupathy, along with Shipping
Ministry Joint Secretary A K Bhalla, would be leaving for Egypt
on 19 June to have discussions with the officials of the Suez
Canal authority. The Cabinet had fixed a time frame of 180 weeks
to finish the entire project, he said.
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