Dredging in India is gradually shifting from a traditional waste disposal model towards a resource-reuse approach. Dredged material, historically disposed offshore or in confined facilities, is increasingly being recognised as a resource for infrastructure and coastal development. Various guidelines reinforce this shift by promoting its use for land reclamation, construction, beach nourishment and shoreline protection. This is particularly relevant as Indian ports generate large volumes of dredged material, primarily comprising sand, silt and clay.
However, reuse of dredged material remains limited due to variations in material quality, contamination risks, etc. India, therefore, has significant scope to move towards a “waste to wealth” model by systematically assessing dredged material, identifying suitable end uses and strengthening market linkages.
Dredged material: Composition and utilisation across ports
The potential for reusing dredged material depends largely on its composition and engineering properties. For example, clean coarse sand has high reclamation potential and can be used directly as fill, while fine sand and sandy silt can also serve as bulk fill where settlement is manageable. Soft silt and clay have more limited applications and require measures such as dewatering, vertical drains and staged filling. Marginal or variable sediments may require screening, blending or stabilisation before reuse. With appropriate material selection and ground improvement, dredged material can be used for port terminals, storage yards, industrial and logistics areas, among other uses.
This potential is particularly significant in India, where major ports generate large quantities of dredged material every year, primarily comprising sand, silt and clay. The volume and composition vary across ports. Cochin port generates around 26 million cubic metres (mcm) of annual maintenance dredged material, while Jawaharlal Nehru Port generates about 10 to 12 mcm of dredged material. Deendayal Port and the Paradip port also generate substantial quantities. Despite this, open-sea disposal remains the predominant practice at several ports. Some ports, however, have begun adopting beneficial uses for the dredged material. For instance, over 60 per cent of the dredged material at Visakhapatnam port is used for beach nourishment, while dredged material is used for shore nourishment at Paradip port.
Besides, at V.O. Chidambaranar Port, the dredged material is used for reclamation. These examples highlight the scope to expand dredged material reuse across all Indian ports.
Lessons from international best practices
International experience shows that dredged material can be effectively reused when sediment management is integrated into broader infrastructure and coastal planning. For instance, Singapore’s Tuas port has used more than 80 mcm of fill, combining dredged marine sediment with excavated soil and imported sand for large-scale land reclamation. Besides, in Louisiana, dredged sediment from the Mississippi River has been used to rebuild wetlands, marshes and barrier islands, linking navigation dredging with coastal restoration. Moreover, Japan’s Chiba port has used dredged sediment for backfilling and land reclamation, supported by ground improvement measures to manage settlement and liquefaction risks.
Further, Germany’s Hamburg port has also demonstrated the potential to process fine dredged sediment into construction materials, including bricks, although commercial viability remains a challenge.
Key opportunities and future outlook
India has a significant scope to reuse dredged material across coastal and port infrastructure. Land reclamation is a key opportunity, particularly for new port terminals, industrial corridors and additional land under the Sagarmala programme at ports such as Jawaharlal Nehru Port and Paradip port. Besides, dredged material can also support shoreline protection in erosion-prone areas of Kerala, Odisha and West Bengal. Compatible dredged sand can be used for beach nourishment in tourism destinations such as Goa, Puducherry and coastal Odisha. Moreover, another opportunity lies in urban infrastructure, where suitable material can be used for coastal city expansion, and road and rail embankments near major ports such as Kandla, Paradip and Visakhapatnam.
Going forward, scaling up reuse of dredged material will require better integration of dredging with infrastructure planning. Dredging and reclamation requirements should be considered together from the feasibility and the detailed project report stage. Ports can build sediment inventories covering quantity, grain size, geotechnical properties and environmental quality. This can help match available dredged material with nearby reclamation and infrastructure needs. Treatment, containment and ground improvement can expand the scope for reuse, while procurement contracts should include clear material specifications, ownership, enabling provisions and acceptance criteria. Together, these measures can support a more systematic approach to dredged material reuse in India. w
Based on a presentation by the Central Water and Power Research Station at a recent India Infrastructure conference
