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The multi-thousand-crore Vizhinjam deepwater port and international container transhipment terminal project crossed a major milestone, with the two bidder consortiums getting the all-clear from the Union Ministry of Defence.
Earlier, the technical bids by the consortiums led by Welspun Infratech and Mundra Port and Special Economic Zone, was accepted by the special purpose vehicle Vizhinjam International Seaports Ltd (VISL) set up by the Kerala Government.
CENTRE WRITES
An official spokesman said the Defence Minister, Mr A. K. Antony, has written to the Chief Minister, Mr Oommen Chandy, and the Minister for Ports, Mr K. Babu, informing them about the Defence clearance.
Two more crucial go-aheads from the Centre are now awaited before the State Government could hope to open the financial bids of the two consortiums.
These have to come from the Union Ministry of Home and the Union Ministry of External Affairs, the spokesman said.
Subsequent to this, the award of the project to the successful bidder would be just a matter of formality
EIA EXERCISE ON
Meanwhile, the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) of the project, another major decider of the viability of the project, is apace.
The Union Ministry of Environment and Forests had recently given an altered Terms of Reference (ToR) for the purpose.
Accordingly, the study will look at the impact the project would have on the marine biology of the region.
It would also seek to know whether the project would alter the sea erosion dynamics of the coast.
The likelihood of any possible adverse impact on the fishing community living in the coastal hamlets close to the project area would also be explored.
ALL-WEATHER STUDY
The EIA will take at least one year to get over since the altered ToR binds the assessor to study how the marine ecosystem behaves and erosion dynamics shape up to weather through the year, including the two monsoons.
Other formalities
The Ports Minister said the State Government was confident of completing all other formalities relating to the project in time.
The aim is to start work on Rs 4,010-crore first phase of the project within a few months so that first container ship could be flagged off from the new terminal in 2015.
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