THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The much-hyped offshore breakwater project, which was piloted at Poonthura as a solution to combat sea erosion along the Kerala coast back in 2019, continues to drag on. The project has missed yet another deadline owing to issues with the raw materials used for the construction of the breakwater. Officials said the project will face further delay as the monsoon season is fast approaching.
The construction work of the offshore breakwater took off more than one year ago and was planned to be completed by January this year.
“The actual plan was to execute the work as five segments and the contractor completed one segment. We waited during the monsoon season and studies were carried out to see how the breakwater is working. An underwater study was conducted which found that the geo-tube deposited got worn out and was leaking,” said an official of Kerala State Coastal Area Development Corporation (KSCADC), the special purpose vehicle (SPV) entrusted with the project.
“The contractor has been asked to fix the issue. Since the material is exported from China, it will take another one or two months to get it shipped. We will be able to begin the work from September as monsoon is around the corner. As per the current plan, the work will be completed within five months,” said the official. KSCADC has entered into an agreement with Mumbai-based DVP GCC Joint Ventures for executing the project at Poonthura. It is being implemented with the technical support of the National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT), which carried out a model study for the project.
The plan is to construct a 700m-long breakwater extending along Poonthura, Valiyathura, Beemapally and Shankhumukham. The breakwater will be constructed along the coastline using geo-tubes of 5m diameter.
Breakwaters of 100m length will be installed 100 to 120 metres from the shore, and are expected to intercept the waves and reduce their intensity, to prevent coastal erosion. However, the project has proved to be a failure in other states.
Project progress