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Our Bureau

Thiruvananthapuram, Aug. 6

Land acquisition for creating basic infrastructure for the proposed international container transhipment terminal at Vizhinjam, which was cleared by the Union Defence Ministry on Tuesday, will begin soon.

The Chief Minister, Mr V.S. Achuthanandan, told newspersons after a Cabinet meeting on Wednesday that it was reckoned that 1,088 hectares would be required to establish rail and road connectivity, warehousing, parking and other facilities as part of the project.

He said that development of the Vizhinjam terminal would accelerate the growth of not only the State’s economy but of the whole nation. The proposal is now awaiting the clearance of the Union Home Ministry, he added.

The project, estimated to cost around Rs 5,400 crore and being implemented on a build-operate-transfer (BOT) basis, is expected to create 5,000 direct and 1.5 lakh indirect job opportunities.

The first phase of the project, in which the State Government will have 24 per cent share-holding, is envisaged to be completed within three years.

The Government selected a consortium led by Hyderabad-based Lanco Kondappally Power Ltd to implement the project after floating a global tender. The other partners of the consortium are Lanco Infratech Ltd and Pembinan Redzai of Malaysia.

It may be noted that the Government had identified a consortium led by Mumbai-based Zoom Developers as the private investor for the project following a global tender floated in 2006. The other partners of the consortium were two Chinese companies.

The proposal, however, failed to get the security clearance from the Centre. Consequently, the Government floated a fresh global tender, which was bagged by Lanco Kondappally consortium.

The Cabinet also decided in principle to establish an international free software and knowledge study centre in tandem with its policy to promote the use of free software in the State.

A special officer would be appointed to look into the viability of the proposal as also to conduct the preliminary work on it, the Chief Minister said.

More Stories on : Shipping/Ports | Real Estate & Construction | Kerala

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