THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: After a gap of almost a full year, work on the Rs 7,525 crore Vizhinjam port project is set to get into full swing from this month onwards now that the southwest monsoon and cyclonic weather conditions have subsided. But now, it will be a race against time to meet the Phase I deadline of December 4, 2019.
As part of a general review on quarries last Friday, the state government instructed district collectors of Thiruvananthapuram and Kollam to expedite procedures related to the quarrying of granite for the project. ‘’The project will be speeded up now that the monsoon has subsided. The Adani Group is expected to deploy additional equipment to make up for the lost time,’’ K Jayakumar, CEO, Vizhinjam International Seaport Ltd (VISL), the state government company monitoring the project, said.
Work had literally ground to halt at the site by last November due to the scarcity of granite and inclement weather triggered by the Ockhi cyclone. Dredging too had to be stopped after two of the dredgers sustained severe damages in the cyclone. At present, rock consignments have started arriving at the site to the tune of 1000 to 1500 tonnes a day for the construction of the breakwater which had stalled at the 600-metre point last year. Once the quarries are ready, this is expected to go up to 15,000 tonnes a day.
Facilities at Kollam port, one of the loading points for the granite, will be ready by the end of October, while Muthalappozhi harbour is expected to take time, a senior official of Adani Vizhinjam Port Pvt Ltd (AVPPL), the concessionaire, said.
‘’We plan to press into service two to three barges initially and increase it to six. The granite consignments will arrive both by land and marine routes,’’ the official said. By December, the piling works will be completed, AVPPL officials said. Over 60 per cent of the piles are in place.
Also, the casting of paver blocks for the berths have started at the location, AVPPL officials said. The construction of the administrative building for the port also has started. This work is expected to be completed by November 2019. Meanwhile, the dredging of the channels leading out from the port basin to the sea will be restarted by November this year.
Project timeline
August 17, 2015: The Adani Group and the UDF government inks concession agreement for the project. The same day, Gautam Adani announces that the project will be completed in 1000 days
December 5, 2015: Construction inaugurated
May 2017: Ports Minister Ramachandran Kadannapally informs Assembly that commercial operations will begin at the port on December 4, 2019
November 2017: Adani Group hit by shortage of granite for breakwater construction. Dredgers damaged in Ockhi cyclone
March 6, 2018: Ports Minister informs Assembly that the project will miss deadline
April 3: Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan informs Adani Group that the December 4, 2019, deadline cannot be extended.
Uncertainty over Vizhinjam project deadline
The state government has not relented so far on its stand that the deadline for the Vizhinjam project cannot be extended. Following the Ockhi cyclone, the Adani Group had informed the government that the Phase I deadline of December 4, 2019 (1460 days from the start of work on December 5, 2015) would be overshot. An independent engineer had looked into the matter, and on its recommendations, the government had declined to entertain the Adani Group request that the deadline should be extended. As work is expected to go full-swing from this month onwards, the deadline would remain the same. Phase I consists of three major works: construction of the 3.1 km-long breakwater, dredging and reclamation works and the construction of 800 metres of berths.