The Adani Group has
placed orders for 32 cranes for the Vizhinjam seaport project. Eight of the
cranes will be used for loading and unloading shipping containers. The rest are
smaller ones designed for the movement of containers inside the container yard.
The Vizhinjam
project is back in the headlines with work on the 3.1 km breakwater halted due
to scarcity of rock.
Heavy damage
sustained by the dredgers during cyclone Ockhi in November last year had also
affected the dredging of the channel approach to the proposed port. Sources at
Adani Vizhinjam Port Pvt Ltd (AVPPL) said that the company has completed the
erection of 260 piles that are crucial for the construction of the berths, a
key component of the first phase of the project.
Efforts are also
on, with the help of the state government, to sort out problems in rock
procurement for the breakwater construction. Recent attempts at procuring rock
from quarries in Nagaroor region in Thiruvananthapuram district had to be
halted due to local protests.
All-party meetings
convened by the district administration had not helped solve the disputes.
After the concession agreement with the state government was signed in
September 2015, the Adani group began construction on December 5 the same
year.
The first 900 days
of work has also been marred by protests by residents in the project area and
problems due to natural calamities like cyclone Ockhi and coastal erosion.
However, the state government has refused to extend the deadline for phase one
even though the Ahmedabad-based group has expressed doubts as to whether it
will be able to stick to it.
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