Foundation stone for Vizhinjam port to be laid on Dec 5

Foundation stone for the proposed Rs 7,525-crore Vizhinjam International Deepwater Multipurpose Seaport will be laid on December 5, Kerala's Minister for Ports K Babu said here today.
Chief Minister Oommen Chandy will lay the foundation in the presence of Union Minister for Shipping and Ports Nitin Gadkari, Babu told reporters.
The port, which will come up near the famed tourist destination of Kovalam here, will be completed in three phases.
An MoU has been signed with Adani Group for construction and operation of the port for a 40-year period, including the construction period of four years, he said.
The port was first proposed in 1991 during the then Congress-led government.

But the project failed to take off for various reasons, till the present Chandy government took it up after coming to power in 2011. The project was awarded to the Adani Group in August amid strong protest from CPI-M led LDF opposition in the state.