Efforts are on to bring the first ship to
Vizhinjam international sea port by September this year, said Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan on
March 3rd.
Industry
experts say the deadline is achievable provided this year’s South west monsoon
does not wreck the Port infrastructure. Once fully commissioned, the largest mother ship
of the world can easily be anchored here, said port officials, adding that five
mother ships can be berthed at a time after its full commissioning may be in a
few years.
Now, the country is depending heavily on Colombo,
Singapore and Dubai mother ports for the transshipment of heavy cargo to the
country incurring additional cost and time.
Once the Vizhinjam port is functional, it will bridge the gap.
Responding to a question in the legislative
assembly, the CM said the project will be a game-changer for the state as major
cities and business centres have come around such mother ports around the
world. The Port is planning to bring the first ship to the port by September.
Work is going on at a brisk pace and serious attempts are on to realise this,”
he said.
With the commissioning of the port, an industrial
corridor will be developed in south Kerala.
“It will usher in development in the area. The
government is planning to develop industrial parks, logistic centers and many
other projects. It will give employment opportunities to many youngsters,” he
said.
Work on the project was disrupted for about
four months last year after fishermen, led by the Latin Catholic church,
disrupted it alleging that the port construction triggered massive coastal
erosion, taking away their dwellings and livelihood.
They had sought that the ongoing works should
remain suspended but the government stood its ground. The protest was called off on December 6 after the government agreed
to five of the seven demands raised by them. The Adani Group is developing
the first mother ship project of the country in Vizhinjam, 16km south of the
state capital.
Conceived three decades ago, the port (with 20m
natural depth), 12 nautical miles away from the international ship channel, is
expected to be a big boost to the industrial growth of southern India, experts
said.
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