THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Even amid big discussions about the state’s development, politics hogged the limelight during the inauguration of the second phase work on the Vizhinjam International Seaport on Saturday here. Nearly all political leaders attributed the port to their political party. Notably, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan refrained from making severe political remarks as he had in the commissioning of the first phase of the port. Delivering the welcome speech, General Education Minister V Sivankutty took a dig at the Centre for not providing ample funds for the project.
“While Rs 1,411 crore was provided as a grant for the Thoothukkudi Outer Harbour project without repayment conditions, Vizhinjam was given a sum of Rs 817.80 crores as a loan. Going by the conditions of paying this back with interest, the state will have to give back Rs 10,000-12,000 crore to the Centre. Can this be called an aid?” the minister said.
Speaking after the inauguration, Leader of Opposition V D Satheesan said that many projects linked with the port, including rail and road connectivity, are yet to be completed even years after the project saw the green light in full swing.
“We haven’t completed the outer ring road construction here, and even the land acquisition has proceeded at a slow pace,” he said. He also called late Oommen Chandy, the sculptor of the Vizhinjam project, which was strengthened by the remarks by Adani Ports managing director Karan Adani’s speech, in which he initially thanked the late Congress CM. Adding to Satheesan’s statement were the remarks by Kovalam MLA M Vincent, who urged the speedy development of the port hinterland.
Rebutting Satheesan, Finance Minister K N Balagopal said that all chief ministers who contributed towards the project should be remembered at this point, including E K Nayanar and V S Achuthanandan. “Of every single rupee spent for Vizhinjam, 62 paisa is provided by the state, 28 by Adani Group and the remaining 10 by the Centre,” he said. Rajya Sabha MP A A Rahim said that the continued reign of Pinarayi Vijayan government had played a key role in the completion of the port.
Meanwhile, the two BJP leaders on the dais- Union Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal and Mayor V V Rajesh attributed the port’s development to aligning with the development dreams of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“Under Narendra Modi’s leadership, India achieved development in land, waters and the skies,” the Union minister said. Mentioning that the stagnated project saw key developments after Modi came to power in 2014, Rajesh said that Vizhinjam can turn Thiruvananthapuram into South India’s financial capital in the coming years, like the Mumbai port.