Thiruvananthapuram: A meeting of the director board of Vizhinjam International Seaport held here on Wednesday finalised the tender in favour of the Adani Port and Special Economic Zone to develop the port at an estimated cost of Rs 7,525 crore in Thiruvananthapuram.
The director board presided over by Chief Minister Oommen Chandy approved the report of the high powered committee headed by chief secretary Jiji Thomson clearing the proposal of Adanis, the lone bidder.
Ports minister K. Babu told reporters after the meeting that the next cabinet meeting would consider it for the final clearance.
“If the project was not executed now, then it will never happen. It was in such circumstance that the government wanted to make the project a reality at the earliest,” Mr Babu said.
Going for another global tender would delay the project and result in price escalation”. The Adani group, India’s largest private multi-port operator, has offered to complete the project within three years.
The group requires Rs 4,089 crore for developing Vizhinjam International Deepwater Multipurpose Seaport project through Public Private Partnership.
They have also sought the maximum eligible grant of 40 percent. This amount would come to around Rs 1,635 crore. Of this, an amount Rs 818 crore will be received as viability gap funding (VGF) from the centre.
After the cabinet approved the project the Adani group would submit a security of Rs 120 crore before signing an agreement with VIS Limited. The selected firm would get the contract for running the project for a period of 40 years which can be extended by another 20 years.
Meanwhile, CPI State Secretary Kanam Rajendran told reporters here that his party would oppose the move to concede the interest of the state to the corporate. The Government was least safeguarding public interest. In the contrary, they were hellbent on ensuring profits to the corporate
