30 September 2004	Thursday	14 Shaban 1425

BANGALORE: The ambitious Sethusamudram ship canal project between India and Sri Lanka will get under way after the union cabinet vets it next month and ecological concerns are addressed, says Shipping Minister T.R. Baalu.

Baalu affirmed the government's commitment to the Rs20-billion ($434 million) project that envisages a 20-km navigation channel between India and Sri Lanka from the narrow Gulf of Mannar to the Bay of Bengal for the movement of cargo ships and cruise liners in the Indian Ocean.

"The union cabinet will consider the project in October for approval and allocate seed capital of Rs.500 million as the government's share of investment in it," Baalu told IANS here.

He said the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs had cleared the project early this month and a special purpose vehicle (SPV) had been set up to execute it. "Our ministry is studying the objections filed by fishermen and environmentalists to not only allay their apprehensions but also make provision for meeting their requirements," Baalu said on the sidelines of a review meeting of infrastructure projects in Karnataka.

The work may commence by this yearend and is expected to complete by 2007. Besides the central government, the Tamil Nadu government, the Shipping Corporation of India (SCI) and the Tuticorin Port Trust (TPT) will be the major stakeholders. The SPV in the form of the Sethusamudram Corporation will have Rs8 billion capital. The SCI and TPT will invest Rs500 million each for the dream project. -Courtesy SAFMA