Prominent trade and industry bodies have urged Chief Minister Oommen Chandy to take the steps needed to make the Vizhinjam international port project a reality.

In a memorandum submitted to the Chief Minister, they said that prolonged delay would jeopardise its prospects and potential.

“We request you to take a speedy decision by approving the recommendation of the empowered committee headed by the Chief Secretary,” the memorandum said.

Signatories

Signatories include P Ganesh, President, and Thomas John Muthoot, Chairman, CII, Thiruvananthapuram; BS Basanth Kumar, President, Trivandrum Management Association; VK Mathews, Chairman, Thiruvananthapuram Agenda Task Force; EM Najeeb, President, Confederation of Kerala Tourism Association; SN Raghuchandran Nair, President, Credai; R Rajesh, State Chairman, Builders Association of India; MS Venugopal, General Secretary, Federation of Residents Associations; Ramkumar Rajan, President, Thiruvananthapuram Development Front; and N Appukkuttan Pillai, working president, Janapaksham.

Development of Vizhinjam seaport is of great national importance considering the fact that the majority of Indian transshipment is currently being handled by foreign ports of Colombo, Singapore, and Dubai.

The project would help shift these operations to India and thereby generate considerable savings in foreign exchange, the memorandum said.

Growth booster

The proposed port has the potential to become the transhipment hub serving the entire Indian coast. The port and allied facilities would significantly contribute to the large-scale growth of industry and economy in Kerala, particularly Thiruvananthapuram and south Kerala, besides generating employment opportunities locally.

“We understand that the empowered committee has recommended the current tender and the bid for the project (by Adani Ports and SEZ). Adani Ports, India’s biggest private port operating firm, as the implementing agency will indeed prove to be a success specifically taking into account its expertise in port development and operation,” the memorandum said.

It is very much in the interest of the state and its economy that the project gets implemented at the earliest, it added.

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