Commercial ships to reach Vizhinjam International Seaport in May : Ports Minister V N Vasavan

THIRUVANANTHPURAM : Ports Minister Shri V N Vasavan, who visited Vizhinjam International Seaport after assuming charge, has said commercial ships would start arriving at the port in May and construction works are progressing rapidly.

Although the deadline is December, the Adani Group is trying to complete the commissioning earlier, Vasavan said.

The construction of groyne fields (pulimuttu) will be completed by next month.

Of the total 3,000m stretch pulimuttu, work on 2,850m has been completed. At present, 15 cranes have reached the port and have been installed. The remaining 17 cranes are expected to reach here by March, he said.

After the first vessel that had reached the port with cranes in October, four more vessels have anchored at the port with cranes from China. Land acquisition works are underway for road connectivity, said the minister after reviewing progress of the port construction.

The minister clarified that the rehabilitation plan announced during the Oommen Chandy government would not continue. However, the government would continue to support the fishing community who had lost their livelihood in the region, he added.

The grievances raised by the company regarding the port construction would be resolved amicably. Efforts are made to speed up disbursement of viability gap funds to the Adani Group, said the minister.
On the delay in getting the security code for the port, the minister said the port would get the code for international ships to anchor only after completion of boundary wall work. The minister said necessary action to resolve the dispute with the Latin Church would be expedited .

The CPM had taken over the port portfolio when former port minister Ahamed Devarkoil had resigned after completing the first half of the LDF term in the government. Though Ramachandran Kadanappally had replaced Devarkoil, the CPM was not ready to hand over the port portfolio to him.

It is learnt that the CPM took up the port portfolio realizing the significance and the need to complete the project on time.