THIRUVANANTHAPURAM:After a long gap caused by inclement weather, the channel dredging works for the Vizhinjam seaport project is set to resume next month.Adani Vizhinjam Port Pvt Ltd (AVPPL), the concessionaire for the Rs 7,525-crore project, plans to deploy two, or possibly three, dredgers to make up for lost time, Adani Group officers said. Dredging and the construction of 3.1-km breakwater - two of the three major components in phase one of the project - had been hit since the Ockhi cyclone disaster in November 2017. The dredging had to be called off after two dredgers were damaged in the cyclonic weather conditions and were pulled in for repairs. The repairs have been completed, sources said.
“Both works will resume in October. More dredgers will be deployed to speed up the work,’’ said K Jayakumar, CEO of Vizhinjam International Seaport Ltd (VISL), the state government port company overseeing the project. Rough sea conditions, which prevailed throughout the summer months and the subsequent monsoons, had prevented the resumption of the work so far.
Meanwhile, Adani Group officers said the supply of granite for the construction of the breakwater has resumed in a small way. ‘’We are receiving 1,000 to 1,500 tonnes of rock daily now. By the end of October we hope to increase it to 12,000 tonnes a day once the mining from the quarries identified for the work begins in earnest,’’ an AVPPL officer said.
The Adani Group had identified quarries in Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam and Pathanamthitta districts for sourcing granite required for the construction of the breakwater. But local protests had prevented the mining initially. Subsequently, the state government had issued instructions in July to three district collectors to settle the disputes amicably. More than 60 lakh tonnes of rock more are needed for completing the breakwater. The Adani Group had placed requests for six quarries in Thiruvananthapuram district, three in Kollam and two in Pathanamthitta. The construction of the breakwater was started in April 2016.
Meanwhile, the piling work also is expected to be over by January Approximately 430 of the 660 piles needed for the berth construction are in place, they said. Work on the 32 KV sub-station and the administration office building also are progressing fast.
Dredging and the construction of 3.1-km breakwater - two of the three major components in phase one of the project - had been hit since the Ockhi cyclone disaster in November 2017