Rock Dredging on the Malabar Coast of India

The Dabhol Power Project in 1997 was the largest foreign investment project in India. The Project was planned to have over 2000 Megawatts of power generation, an LNG terminal, and an all weather harbor to receive fuel deliveries. The site was located on the exposed Malabar Coast of India nominally 160 kilometers south of Mumbai. The green-field development included an eight kilometer dredged channel and turning basin, a 1750 meter long unloading pier, and 2300 meters of rubble mound breakwater to protect the channel, turning basin, and berth. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the development and execution of the dredging project at the site ranging from initial site investigations through project construction and the first year's experience with sedimentation at the site.