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Vizhinjam project gets Defence Ministry nod

India's southern state of Kerala has obtained the federal Defence Ministry's nod for a Rs53-billion (Dh4.8 billion) deep water port at Vzhinjam near here.

  • By Akhel Mathew, Correspondent
  • Published: 23:59 August 7, 2008
  • Gulf News

Thiruvananthapuram: India's southern state of Kerala has obtained the federal Defence Ministry's nod for a Rs53-billion (Dh4.8 billion) deep water port at Vzhinjam near here.

State Chief Minister Achuthanandan has said the state will acquire 1,088 hectares of land for the construction of basic infrastructure facilities such as warehouses, railway, roads and parking space.

The decision has enthused people in southern Kerala as the move takes the decades-old dream of a major container transshipment terminal a step closer to realisation.

Once complete, the port at Vizhinjam is expected to become a leading port of call for container transport, giving strong competition to all major transshipment terminals in the region.

Observers here say that the state may have been lucky to have its former chief minister A.K. Antony holding the post of federal defence minister, going by the urgency shown by his ministry in giving its nod to the project.

The defence ministry has approved the project on condition that its naval vessels would be allowed berthing whenever required, and that there would be a defence ministry representative on the Vizhinjam port trust board.

The port project is being established by a consortium led by Hyderabad-based Lanco Kondappalli Power, which won the global tender.

Vizhinjam has the twin advantages of having a natural draft of nearly 20 metres and of being close to the international sea route between the Gulf region and the Far East.

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