Green nod for second and third phases of Vizhinjam Port expansion likely in March
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM : The Vizhinjam International Seaport which began commercial operations in December 2024 is expected to receive the environmental clearance for the second and third phases of the development of the port by March. A public hearing on the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report submitted to the Expert Appraisal Committee for securing Environmental Clearance for the next phases of the developments was held in New Delhi on Thursday.
It is not known what transpired in the meeting of the Expert Appraisal Committee of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) for projects relating to infrastructure development and the Coastal Regulation Zone. However, the project proponent, Vizhinjam International Seaport Limited (VISL), a special purpose vehicle (SPV) set up to implement the Vizhinjam deep water multipurpose seaport on a public-private partnership basis, and port concessionaire Adani Vizhinjam Ports Private Ltd (AVPPL) are hopeful of receiving the nod possibly by March, according to sources.
The Expert Appraisal Committee will have to recommend the project for Environmental Clearance, and the final clearance has to be granted by the Ministry of Environment and Forests based on the recommendation. Once the green nod is issued, development to the tune of ₹10,000 crore will be carried out by the AVPPL as part of expanding the deepwater container transshipment port. The Kerala government recently entered into a supplementary concession agreement with the AVPPL, advancing the second and third phases of work to 2028 instead of 2045 deadline fixed in the first contractual agreement.
The supplement agreement was signed as part of ending the arbitration proceedings between the AVPPL and the State government over the delay in the project, which saw a delay of five years.
However, an ongoing stalemate between the State and the Centre over the Viability Gap Fund (VGF) has been delaying a tripartite agreement to be signed by the State government, AVPPL, and the Centre. The premium sharing agreement is also part of the tripartite agreement. Signing the tripartite agreement is necessary to end the arbitration proceedings.
The Centre which earlier agreed to provide its VGF share of ₹817.80 crore to the port concessionaire, is yet to make the payment after the Centre insisted that Kerala will have to repay the VGF share of the Centre, a point that Kerala vehemently refused. Of the ₹8,867 crore project in phase I, ₹5,595 crore has to be borne by the State government. The State share includes its VGF share, construction of the access road, rail connectivity, land acquisition, and compensation for livelihood loss. So far, the State has spent ₹2,159.39 crore, while the Adani’s contributed ₹2,454 crore. Upon completion of the second and third phases of the work, the port will see the container handling capacity increased to 30 lakh TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) from the 10 lakh TEUs in Phase I.