The Hindu Business Line : Bidding date extended again for Vizhinjam port

THE Ports Department of the Kerala Government has yet again extended the last date for submitting techno-economic bids for the proposed development of Vizhinjam port, near here, into an international container trans-shipment hub.

According to department officials, the date has been extended by another six weeks to November 30 in response to request from the bidders who have expressed interest in the project. The earlier last date was October 15.

This is the second time the date is being extended. The original last date was August 15 and it was extended by two months, again at the instance of the bidders, who sought more time to study the project.

The officials dismissed the suggestion that the project had been rendered uncertain in the wake of the firming up of plans for the Vallarpadam container terminal at Kochi. The Vallarpadam project has been awarded to Dubai Port Authority for implementation.

The officials said that the bidders were still serious about the project and they asked for an extension purely for technical reasons. In fact, some of the companies had asked for extension by two months, but the department has finally fixed it on November 30.

They said the Government was going ahead with the plan to float a company for taking up the project and that the details in this respect would be finalised within the next few days. The State Government has included the forming of the company in its 100-day action plan announced nearly a month ago.

The company is proposed to be fully-owned by the Government and 50 per cent of the stake will be offloaded later in favour of non-resident Keralites or financial institutions. The company will later enter into a joint venture agreement with the private promoter of the project.

In all, seven companies, including three foreign entities, have expressed interest in the project. The foreign companies are Hili Company of Malta, Portcon International of South Africa and Beckett Rankine of the UK in partnership with a French consortium.

The Indian companies in the list are Larsen and Toubro, Afcons, Gammon India and Adani Exports.

Meanwhile, Universal Lubricants of Sharjah is expected to submit its proposal for the development of Azhikkal port some time next week. The department has decided to scale down the estimated outlay from Rs 1,400 crore by cutting the costs of the first phase.