Vizhinjam Adani Port CEO resigns

The Vizhinjam Adani Port Pvt. Ltd. CEO Santosh Mohapatra has resigned. The company was the party to the deed signed with Kerala government for the Vizhinjam port project. Adani group informed the media that another CEO will take charge Friday.

Santosh Mohapatra informed the media that the reasons for his resignation were personal, and that he stepped down in order to spend more time with his family.

However, reports indicate that the CEO was dissatisfied with the slow pace of the project. Due to the shortage of granite, work has been halted for the last two months. Review meetings at the government level were also not taking place as planned. Therefore, the work which as per the contract should be completed by 5 December 2019, is likely to be delayed. In this situation, functioning of the port's phase one is also unlikely to start within two years as planned. This may force Adani group to request the government to extend the timeline of the project's first phase.

The Vizhinjam port was introduced by the last UDF government as a dream project. In all the negotiations with the then chief minister Oommen Chandy representing the government, Adani group was represented by CEO Santosh Mohapatra. A former IAS official from Gujarat cadre, Mohapatra is also known as one among the top experts in port construction.