Thiruvananthapuram: The Adani Group has begun mining in one quarry, besides obtaining no-objection certificate (NOC) from the district collectors of Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam and Pathanamthitta for quarrying in 18 others. A major chunk of the 70 lakh metric tonnes (MT) of granite required for the construction of breakwater for Vizhinjam International Seaport will be sourced from these quarries.

Of the 18 quarries, which have received NOC, 11 are in Thiruvananthapuram, two in Kollam and five in Pathanamthitta. Out of this, 12 will be operated directly by Adani Group while the rest are to be made operational in partnership with other private owners, where AVPPL will have a stake on 50% of the granite.

Blasting has already begun in the quarry at Kadavila in Nagaroor, which is directly operated by Adani Group.

The project site, at present, has a stock of around 2.5 lakh MT of rocks and 5,000 to 8,000 MT of granite are added to the stock each day, mainly from local suppliers.

The construction of the 3.1km breakwater will resume early in October and the first phase works of the port is expected to be completed by December 2020, according to sources in the Adani Vizhinjam Port Private Limited (AVPPL), which is entrusted to develop and operate this deep-water multipurpose port.

However, the deadline for commissioning the port remains to be December, 2019 as the government is yet to take a decision on AVPPL’s request for a 16-month extension. Thanks to the support the AVPPL is now receiving from government departments with regard to clearances and other procedures, the first phase of the port will be completed by October 2020, and there will not be any delay beyond December 2020, the sources said.

Of the total requirement of 70 lakh MT of rocks for the completion of 3.1km breakwater (only 650 metres have so far been constructed), the company is planning to source 80% from local mines and 20% from neighbouring state of Tamil Nadu (Thoothukudi). Three more mines, two in Kollam and one in Thiruvananthapuram will be made operational by the end of September, sources said.

Though the current monsoon season has not caused any damage to existing structures on the seafront, the construction of breakwater can be resumed only after the sea turns calm, probably by the end of September. The AVPPL has already promised completion of several other components like the 800m berth, electric substation and administrative, immigration and customs buildings by end of 2019.

The Kerala state remote sensing and environment centre has submitted the study report to construct a 2km-road connecting NH66 to the project site. This plan had encountered a roadblock due to various norms to be followed under the Wetland Act. A meeting was held in this regard and local residents are being taken into confidence, the sources said.

