ಸೇತು ಸಮುದ್ರ ಯೋಜನೆಯಿಂದ ಭಾರತಕ್ಕೆ ನೌಕಾಯಾನ ಸುಲಭವಾಗುತ್ತದೆ.ಸಮಯ ಮತ್ತು ಹಣದ ಉಳಿತಾಯ ಆಗುತ್ತದೆ ಎನ್ನುವ ಅಭಿಪ್ರಾಯ ಇದೆ. ಆದರೆ ಈ ಯೋಜನೆಯಿಂದ ಪ್ರಯೋಜನ(?) ಪಡೆಯಲು ಸಣ್ಣ ಹಡಗುಗಳಿಗೆ ಮಾತ್ರಾ ಸಾಧ್ಯವಂತೆ. ಆಗುವ ಸಮಯದ ಉಳಿತಾಯ ಹೆಚ್ಚೆಂದರೆ ಎಂಟು ಗಂಟೆಯಂತೆ. ಈ ಕಾಲುವೆ ಬಳಕೆಗೆ ಶುಲ್ಕ ವಿಧಿಸಿದರೆ,ಹಡಗುಗಳಿಗೆ ಹಣದ ಉಳಿತಾಯವೂ ಆಗದು. ಹೊಯಿಗೆ ರಾಶಿಯಿಂದ ಪದೇ ಪದೇ ಕಾಲುವೆಯ ಸಂಚಾರಕ್ಕೆ ಅಡಚಣೆಯಾಗಲೂ ಬಹುದು. ಹೀಗೆನ್ನುತ್ತಾರೆ ಸ್ವಾಮಿನಾಥನ್. ಓದಿ:

Dreams are costless, but canals are not. Project documents claim that the canal will save ships 36 hours of time and 570 nautical miles of distance. But a recent study by Jacob John in Economic and Political Weekly exposes these claims as highly exaggerated. Up to 70% of the traffic through the canal is projected to come from Europe and Africa. And John estimates that the time saving from Europe to Kolkata will be only eight hours, and the distance saving 215 nautical miles. From Africa to Kolkata, the time taken will actually increase by 3.5 hours (being piloted through the canal is a slow process), and distance reduced will be only 70 nautical miles.

John calculates that ships could lose up to $4,992 per passage if they are charged the tariff laid down in project documents. In which case ships will find it cheaper to go round Sri Lanka. If the government cuts the proposed tariff to attract traffic, John estimates that the project’s rate of return could fall to an uneconomic 2.5%. I expect that the project will also suffer cost overruns in capital and maintenance dredging, and hence be in the red.