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Mony K. Mathew

Thiruvananthapuram, Oct 1 As many as 28 companies have so far bought the request for proposal (RFP) in response to the fresh tender floated by the Kerala Government for developing the proposed international container transshipment terminal at Vizhinjam, near here.

Six foreign companies are among those which have bought RFP and they include Maersk, Singapore Port Authority, Marubeni Shipping Company of Japan and Dredging International of Belgium, according to official sources.

The Indian firms include Reliance, Zoom Developers, L&T, Gammon India, BPL India, Jupiter Capital, Nagarjuna Group and Mehtas (both based in Hyderabad). Of them, Mumbai-based Zoom Developers, in a consortium arrangement with two Chinese companies, and Gammon India were the two companies left in the last leg of the race for contract when the tender was floated last time.

Though the consortium led by Zoom Developers subsequently won the tender, the contract could not be finalised for want of security clearance from the Centre. This necessitated floating of the fresh tender. The last date for submitting the bids is October 31.

The terminal is being implemented in three phases at a total outlay of Rs 5,348 crore. The work on the first phase, costing Rs 2,390 crore, is slated to begin some time next year after finalising the contract.

Meanwhile, Vizhinjam International Seaport Ltd (VISL), formed by the State Government to facilitate the implementation of the container terminal, has started the preliminary work on putting in place the basic infrastructure for the project such as rail and road connectivity, electricity and water supply. The total cost of the work is estimated around Rs 80 crore.

VISL has entered into an agreement with Kerala Water Authority (KWA) for supply of water to the project area and is in discussions with the Kerala State Electricity Board to ensure electricity supply. It has also entrusted RITES to carry out a study on providing road and rail connectivity for the project.

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