THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Amid protests by local residents and shortage of rocks hitting the constriction of Vizhinjam international seaport, the chief executive officer of the project concessionaire — Adani Vizhinjam Ports, Mr Santosh Kumar Mohapatra, has quit. Rajesh Jha has been appointed as the new CEO. While “health and personal” reasons were officially claimed to behind Mr Mophapatra’s decision, he had earlier expressed concerns over the delay in completion of the project.
Mr Jha, who is expected to takeover on Saturday, is an engineering graduate from IIT Roorkee. The change will not affect the project in anyway, said an official statement from Vizhinjam International Seaport Limited. It may be recalled that Mr Mohapatra had told this newspaper in October last that agitations may delay the completion of work. He also said that the company was facing financial losses due to the delay. Locals started protesting by alleging that the piling works for the project was damaging the houses nearby. They started demanding compensation for the same.
Thiruvananthapuram: The scarcity in getting rocks for the construction of break water was another major hurdle being faced by the project. This apart, the recent Ockhi cyclone had also affected the construction of the project. Meanwhile, an official spokesperson for the firm said that Mr Mohapatra would continue as an adviser to Adani group and hence his services could be availed for the Vizhinjam project also in future. “Mr Mohapatra wanted to settle down in Bhubaneswar due to health and personal reasons. His decision has nothing to do with any issues pertaining to the Vizhinjam project," said the spokesperson.
