April 17, 2007 Vizhinjam Port Would
be a Reality,
says Achuthanandan
Thiruvananthapuram
Kerala Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan Tuesday expressed
confidence that the proposed world-class port at Vizhinjam near here
would be a reality.
"The pre-tender discussions which we had with representatives of 43
firms, 12 foreign and 31 Indian companies, have been successful in
all aspects. With this, we are certain that this is going to
happen," said Achuthanandan to reporters after a meeting with the
investors.
"While some companies agreed that the period of build, operate and
transfer basis of the port should be extended from the present 30
years, we said that it would not be possible. Now the tender process
would begin and as per plan, the construction would begin in
December 2008 and the first phase of the port would be operational
in 2011," he added.
Achuthanandan, leading the state team, told the representatives of
the 10 foreign firms - including Maersk - and 37 Indian companies
that Vizhinjam has been a long-standing dream for the people of
Kerala and the government was committed to making the dream come
true.
A detailed presentation to the representatives of these companies
was made by the government team.
Teams that took part in the meeting were from the US, Britain,
Italy, Singapore, France apart from national companies like
Reliance, Gammon India and Mumbai-based Zoom Developers.
Speaking on the occasion, Ports Secretary L. Radhakrishnan said that
the tender would be floated in May and the technical bid would take
place in November.
Incidentally, this is the second time that an attempt to build the
Vizhinjam port is being undertaken.
During the previous Oommen Chandy government (2004-06), after
selecting a consortium of two Chinese and a Mumbai firm through a
global tender, the central government had at the last moment decided
not to give the sanction, citing security reasons for the proposed
Rs.43.60 billion Vizhinjam port.
A major advantage Vizhinjam has over all other ports in India is
that it needs no dredging. The natural depth at Vizhinjam is 24
meters, by far the best in comparison to all other ports in the
world.
Another advantage is that the proposed port lies very close to the
international waters, which is a busy route.
It is to be built on an area of 150 acres and there would be no
displacement of the local fishermen population. The port would be
able to handle 4.10 million containers annually.
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