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| Sunday, 3 July 2005 |
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Indian PM inaugurates Sethusamudram MADURAI, India, July 2 (AFP) - Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh laid the foundation stone yesterday for a shipping channel in a narrow strait that slashes travel time for ships between the Arabian Sea and Indian Ocean, an official said. The Sethusamudram project - which literally means the sea with the bridge - was first conceived in 1860 by a British naval officer A.D. Taylor, around the same time that digging started for the Suez Canal in Egypt. The 560 million-dollar venture aims to upgrade India's maritime infrastructure to cope with rapid economic growth, a local official said. The channel will cut through a chain of small islands known as Adam's Bridge that link the landmasses of India and Sri Lanka. Once finished, small and medium sized ships and freighters sailing from one side of India to the other will no longer have to detour around Sri Lanka, saving more than 30 hours of sailing time and 424 nautical miles (785 kilometres). According to a federal government projection, savings in fuel cost will vary between 1,700-4,100 dollars for vessels with loads of 100-500 tonnes, the Hindu newspaper reported. The government hopes to save 2.15 billion Rupees (50 million dollars) in foreign exchange in the first year of operation in 2008, the report said. The Sethusamudram project will also have implications for India's national security, federal Shipping Minister T. R. Baalu told a press conference in this southern town, 444 kilometres (275 miles) from Chennai, the capital southern Tamil Nadu State, on Friday. |
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