The Centre for Environmental Planning and Technology (CEPT) University, Ahmedabad, will prepare the master plan for an ambitious project to develop a ‘port city’ within 15 km radius of the proposed Vizhinjam international container transshipment terminal (ICTT).
Ports Minister K Babu had said in a written reply in the Assembly the other day that the CEPT University had been appointed for the master plan preparation.
This master plan - which is a different one from the master plan for the port proper - will guide the development that will occur in the vicinity of the ICTT in the next three decades, the Minister said. It will reflect the aspects of social responsibility and comprehensive long-term planning.
The director board of the Vizhinjam International Seaport Ltd (VISL), the company overseeing the port project, had given in-principle approval for the master plan for the ICTT on September 26 this year.
That meeting had also given approval for the inclusion of three CSR projects in the Vizhinjam area; a seafood park and skill development centre near the proposed ICTT, infrastructure development at the small fishing harbour alongside which the ICTT is to come up and the development of the Government UP School at Mulloor. These projects, in fact, are part of the larger port city plan.
On Thursday, the Ports Minister also told the House that the funds for drawing a 220 KV transmission line from Balaramapuram to Vizhinjam have been transferred to the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB).