THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Vizhinjam International Seaport Ltd (VISL) CEO Jayakumar said Konkan Railway was well suited for the project.
“Konkan Railway is well suited for the project as there is a 30-metre level difference between Vizhinjam and Balaramapuram which calls for construction of tunnels,” he said.
In fact, tunnels will constitute nearly eight of the 12 kilometres.
“RVNL withdrew from the project as they had their hands full with other assignments,” Jayakumar said. Earlier, the state government had signed an MoU with RVNL for rail connectivity for the port.
In all, 30 acres will be acquired. This is expected to cost another Rs 250 crore. Earlier, there was a heated debate as to whether the connectivity should be to Balaramapuram or Nemom. Nemom was later dropped as that alignment was not considered feasible. Meantime, the construction of the port has hit a snag due to non-availability of rocks for building the 3.1-km-long breakwater.