Kerala government and Adani Ports will sign the construction agreement for the Rs 7,525 crore Vizhinjam deep sea port project here tomorrow, 24 years after it was first proposed, amidst a boycott by opposition LDF.
The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) will be signed between the state government and Adani Vizhinam Port Private Ltd, the Special Purpose Vehicle of the project, at a function at the government secretariat here at 5 PM tomorrow in the presence of Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and founder and chairman of Adani Group, Gautam Adani.
The government has already decided to start construction
work of the project on November 1, the state formation day.
Opposition CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front has decided
to keep away from the function after levelling allegations of corruption in the deal.
Ports minister K Babu said the government was keen that
everyone cooperates with the project. "We want everyone to cooperate with the project. Allegations that the agreement lacked transparency was baseless," he told reporters at Kochi.
Describing the project with Adani ports a "Real estate deal", Opposition leader V S Achuthanandan said livelihood of several fishermen would be affected once the project becomes a reality. "Chief Minister should tell the people if the project is viable or not before inking the agreement," he said.
CPI(M) state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan said they were not against the project, but government should first address the concerns of the fishermen community.
The Latin catholic church had expressed fears about the
project displacing over 50,000 fishermen from the area and had sought announcement of a rehabilitation project for them before inking the deal. They had also threatened to launch an agitation from tomorrow.
The CM had met the church representatives yesterday to address their concerns.
The port will be designed to cater primarily container transshipments, besides multi-purpose and break bulk cargo.
Vizhinjam International Seaport Ltd - a company fully owned by government of Kerala is the implementing agency for the project, which will be responsible for handling issues relating to land procurement, development of external infrastructure and selection of concessionaire.
Though the construction period is four years as per the
agreement, the company plans to complete work in two years.
Adani Ports has also sought for cabbotage waiver.
The port, a long pending project of the state, was first
proposed in 1991, but did not materialise due to various reasons. It got a push after the present UDF government came to power in 2011. In June this year, the Congress-led UDF government decided to award the project contract to the Adani Group, overruling stiff political opposition.
