After 24 years, Kerala to begin work on Vizhinjam port

Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy will lay the foundation stone for the proposed Rs 7,525-crore Vizhinjam port near here tomorrow.
The Gautam Adani-led 'Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone' (APSEZ) had on August 17 this year signed an agreement with Kerala to build this port, which will be a trans-shipment terminal, and operate it for 60 years.
The investment, materialising nearly a quarter century after the idea of such a port was first mooted in 1991, will be the biggest private investment in the state to date.
This will be the second international trans-shipment terminal in the country. The first one in Kochi was inaugurated in 2010 but is running at low capacity.

In the last three decades, neighbouring Sri Lanka has been able to establish a regional dominance in trans-shipment with the Colombo port, which even supports the Indian trade. Vizhinjam port is planned as an alternative for the same.
Union shipping and ports minister Nitin Gadkari had threatened to take the project to Tamil Nadu at one point, saying political opposition should not hinder economic agenda.

The company had committed to complete the work and make the port operational in a record time of less than 1,000 days. Originally the state and the promoters had planned to lay the foundation stone on Kerala's foundation day, November 1, but could not proceed due to the local body elections.

Executive director of APSEZ Karan Adani, the son of group chairman Gautam Adani, today said he hopes to stick to the 1,000-day completion schedule, and though the concession agreement allows him to start work in 270 days, he is kicking off the work in 110 days.
Gadkari, APSEZ chairman Gautam Adani, state ministers, opposition leader in the Assembly V S Achuthanandan and state officials will also attend the event.
Asked about his expectations from the state politicians as he begins the work on the project, Karan Adani said, "So far we have been in touch with all the political parties and we hope to enjoy the same going forward.

"As far as the public goes, we have complete faith in their continuing support," he said, adding they have already acquired 90 per cent of the land needed for the project.
As Suresh Babu, MD and CEO of the Kerala-government promoted 'Vizhinjam International Seaport', said, the state has changed dramatically for good and the beginning of work on the Vizhinjam port project "is a game-changer for the state".
Adani Vizhinjam Port CEO Santosh Kumar Mohapatra said the local people are extremely supportive of the project. He added that the company has already started dredging work with one Adanis-owned dredger on the job and an approach road.

The project, which would come up near Kovalam beach, was first proposed in 1991 when the late Congress leader K Karunakaran was the Chief Minister but did not materialise due to various reasons. It got a push after the present Chandy government came to power in 2011.
While inking the agreement Chandy had said his government would not allow anything to adversely affect the lives of people in the project area, to reassure the fishermen community which had expressed concerns over rehabilitation.
The port will be developed in three phases. First phase focuses on developing infrastructure facilities by the state itself with an estimated cost of Rs 4,040 crore.

The state has approached a consortium of banks led by State Bank of Travancore to mobilise finance.
The estimated cost for setting up infrastructure like power, road and rail connectivity, drinking water and other facilities is about Rs 1,657 crore while land acquisition would cost around Rs 794 crore.
APSEZ stock closed down 1.5 per cent today at Rs 255.45 on the BSE, against 0.96 per cent fall of Sensex.