Thiruvananthapuram | Vizhinjam International Port, India’s first international deep-water transshipment port, has received the commercial commissioning certificate following the successful completion of its trial run.
An independent engineer from the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, handed over the commercial commissioning certificate to Kerala’s Minister for Ports, Devaswom, and Cooperatives, V N Vasavan, at his office here on Wednesday.
The certificate was issued a day after the minister announced the official completion of the first phase of operations.
A grand inauguration of the commercial commissioning of the first phase of the Vizhinjam Port will be held later, after securing a date from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Vasavan said.
“We have completed the trial run as scheduled, and during the trial run period, more than 70 ships, including some of the largest cargo ships in the world, docked at Vizhinjam Port. We successfully handled 1.47 lakh TEUs,” he said.
The minister said that, as per the technical requirements, the berth length of eight metres has been completed, and the construction of the 3,000-metre breakwater has also been finished as required.
All the cranes needed for commercial operations have been installed at the port for the first phase.
He added that the Konkan Railway Corporation has already submitted a detailed project report for the 10.2-kilometre railway project from Balaramapuram to Vizhinjam, of which 9.2 kilometres will be an underground tunnel.
The environmental and social impact assessment of the project has been completed, and land acquisition will commence soon.
“As for the ring road connectivity, we held a meeting with the stakeholders today, and we will conduct one more meeting to decide on further details. The services of the National Transportation Planning and Research Centre (NATPAC) and the Road Safety Authority have also been sought for technical assistance,” Vasavan said.
He said that the concerns of the local public regarding land acquisition would be addressed through meetings, and the social impact assessment would cover all these issues.
“We will hold a meeting with the people, and the prices of land for acquisition will be negotiated,” the minister said.
Regarding the delay in receiving the grant from the central government, Vasavan said that it is the right of the state government to receive Viability Gap Funding from the Centre and that it should not be considered charity.
“The Chief Minister himself has written a letter to the Central Finance Ministry. In the letter, we mentioned that the empowered committee of the Finance Ministry had recommended this grant. We also pointed out that when the Centre provided Rs 1,114 crore to Tuticorin Port, there were no conditions imposed, nor was it a loan. However, in our case, it comes with conditions and is converted into a loan,” Vasavan said.
He said the state government would have to repay Rs 12,000 crore for the Rs 817.80 crore loan proposed by the central government. The Centre maintains that the amount can only be provided as a loan.
“We view this as discrimination and are expressing our protest. However, this does not mean we are adopting a non-cooperation policy with the central government. We are continuing to exert pressure for the grant,” Vasavan said.
Developed by Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd (APSEZ), India’s largest port developer and part of the Adani Group, the port was constructed under a public-private partnership model at an estimated cost of Rs 8,867 crore.