CM Pinarayi Vijayan tightens Vizhinjam deadline

Thiruvananthapuram: Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has asked Adani Group CEO Karan Adani to complete the Vizhinjam project within the stipulated time. During a  meeting with Mr Adani here on Tuesday,   Mr Vijayan said that the contract period cannot be extended beyond December 2019.  The Adani Group had earlier submitted a letter to the government seeking  an extension of 16 months to complete the construction of the Vizhinjam international port.

Mr Adani told the chief minister that the project cannot be completed within the stipulated time   due to the Ockhi tragedy and also because the construction works were  stalled for many months due to the scarcity of  granite and the protests regarding the rehabilitation package. Moreover, the two drudgers at the site, which were used to drill the sea bed, got damaged in the Ockhi cyclone. The construction  can be restarted only after repairing these drudgers, said Mr Adani.

However, the chief minister said that an extension of the contract period cannot be considered as of now. He wanted Mr Adani to bring in new drudgers in place of the damaged ones immediately to ensure that the project was completed on time. As per the contract,  the Adani Group should give Rs 12 lakh per day to the government if the work   exceeded the contract period.  The Adani Group had signed the contract with the state government to complete the first phase of the project in 1,000 working days, but this was extended to 1,460 days owing to climatic conditions. Only 40 per cent of drudging and  600 metres of the 3.1-km-long  tetrapod have  been completed till date. Moreover,   the construction of side walls, harbour road and  modern fishing harbour for native fishermen is in a limbo due to the  protest over the restoration package.