Empowered Committee recommends Adani for Vizhinjam

Thiruvananthapuram: In a step forward in the State's dream project of multi-crore rupee Vizhinjam International Deep water Seaport project, Empowered Committee Presided by Chief Secretary Jiji Thomson Thursday recommended to accept the tender submitted by Adani Ports for the development of the port.

With Empowered Committee submitting its recommendation, the matter would now be considered by the Vizhinjam Seaport International Ltd (VSIL) board chaired by Chief Minister Oommen Chandy.

Once the Board give its nod, the project would be forwarded to state cabinet for approval, official sources said.

Only Adani Ports bidded for the project when the last date for submitting the tender for bidding ended on April 25.

The project conceived decades ago delayed due to various reasons and it got fresh leaf after the UDF came to power in 2011.

The project had faced hurdles recently with no company submitting final bid for taking up the contract for its construction and operation when last date for bidding ended in February last, even though five companies expressed interest for the project.

Following this, VSP, the Special Purpose Vehicle set up to implement the project, extended the time for submission of tender.

Chief Minister had held a pre-bid meeting with prospective companies, including the Adani Ports.

The contract is for building port superstructure, estimated to cost of Rs 6,000 crore and operate the port for a period of 40 years.