Kerala chief minister Oommen Chandy will lay the foundation stone for the proposed Rs 7,525-crore Vizhinjam po... Read More

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Kerala chief minister Oommen Chandy will lay the foundation stone for the proposed Rs 7,525-crore Vizhinjam port on Saturday.

The Gautam Adani-led 'Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone' (APSEZ) had on August 17 this year signed an agreement with Kerala to build this port, which will be a trans-shipment terminal, and operate it for 60 years.

The investment, materializing nearly a quarter century after the idea of such a port was first mooted in 1991, will be the biggest private investment in the state to date.

This will be the second international trans-shipment terminal in the country. The first one in Kochi was inaugurated in 2010 but is running at low capacity.

In the last three decades, neighbouring Sri Lanka has been able to establish a regional dominance in trans-shipment with the Colombo port, which even supports the Indian trade. Vizhinjam port is planned as an alternative for the same.

Union shipping and ports minister Nitin Gadkari had threatened to take the project to Tamil Nadu at one point, saying political opposition should not hinder economic agenda.

The company had committed to complete the work and make the port operational in a record time of less than 1,000 days. Originally the state and the promoters had planned to lay the foundation stone on Kerala's foundation day, November 1, but could not proceed due to the local body elections.

Executive director of APSEZ Karan Adani, the son of group chairman Gautam Adani , on Friday said he hopes to stick to the 1,000-day completion schedule, and though the concession agreement allows him to start work in 270 days, he is kicking off the work in 110 days.

Gadkari, APSEZ chairman Gautam Adani, state ministers, opposition leader in the Assembly V S Achuthanandan and state officials will also attend the event.

Achuthadanan's presence is important as he had levelled allegations of corruption in the project and opposed it, and stayed away from the agreement-signing function. Later the senior Adani met him and secured his support for the project.