THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The state and Union governments, and the Adani Vizhinjam Port Private Limited (AVPPL) signed the agreements required for the Vizhinjam port’s viability gap funding (VGF) in Thiruvananthapuram on Wednesday.
A tripartite agreement was signed between the Centre, the recipient AVPPL, and the bank consortium while the agreement on sharing 20% of the profit from the port was signed between the state and the Union government. Chief Secretary Sarada Muraleedharan signed the agreement on behalf of the state government in the presence of Ports Minister V N Vasavan.
The minister said the Vizhinjam port will be formally commissioned after getting the date of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Criticising the Centre for having refused to provide its share of VGF as grant, Vasavan said the state agreed to repay the money to avoid delays. He termed the signing of the VGF agreement a historic moment and expressed hope that Centre would provide support for the project in the subsequent phases.
Expressing optimism of completing the work on road and rail connectivity by 2028, Vasavan said the Vizhinjam port project will be fully realised when the cargo traffic takes the land route. Vizhinjam has already become one of the world’s most remarkable ports, he added.
Baldev Purusharth, joint secretary, department of economic affairs; A Kowsigan, special secretary, department of ports; Pradeep Jayaraman, CEO, AVPPL, and Divya S Iyer, managing director, Vizhinjam International Seaport, were present.