Kerala CM Oommen Chandy will lay the foundation stone on Saturday for the proposed Vizhinjam International Sea Port in Thiruvananthapuram, almost a quarter of a century after the idea was first mooted in 1991.
This Rs.7525 crore project will be executed by the Gautam Adani-led Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ) as part of an agreement signed with the Kerala government in August this year.
As part of the said agreement, the Adani-led group will not only build this international trans-shipment terminal but also operate it for the next 60 years.
Once the all-weather port comes up just ten nautical miles from the International Shipping Lane, Indian exporters would then not have to rely on foreign ports for trans-shipment of their cargo.
The company has agreed to complete the project and make it operational in a record time of less than 1000 days. This would be the second such port in the country, besides a low-capacity one based in Kochi.
Suresh Babu, MD and CEO of the state government promoted project termed the port -once built- as a ‘game-changer’ for Kerala.
According to Karan Adani, APSEZ Executive Director, 90% of the land required for the project has already been acquired by the group.
The Kerala government has assured both the Opposition as well as the people of Kerala that the said land was leased and not sold to the company.