Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and Adani Group chairman Gautam Adani pose for a photo in Thiruvananthpuram.


By Ashraf Padanna/Thiruvananthapuram


The Kerala state government yesterday signed a 40-year concession agreement with Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ) to build and operate a multi-purpose seaport here at a cost of Rs75.25bn.
The agreement was signed at a ceremony held in the Durbar Hall of the state Secretariat by state’s Ports Secretary James Varghese and concessionaires Adani Vizhinjam Ports chief executive officer Santosh Kumar Mohapatra.
Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, and the multiport operator group’s chairman Gautam Adani were joined by ministers and top officials at the signing ceremony.
This will be India’s second international container trans-shipment terminal (ICTT) after the Cochin ICTT operated by Dubai’s DP World, also in Kerala.
The promoters say this would be bigger and capable of attracting more than a million TeU (cargo measure) container traffic in the first year of operations.
It took 25 years to get a promoter since the state government conceived the project.
Adani said the work on the project would officially be launched on November 1, the state’s formation day, and would be operational in “less than 1,000 days”, as against four years stipulated in the agreement.
Adani, the Gujarati entrepreneur identified to be close to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, met Chandy and Opposition Leader V S Achuthanandan, who alleges that the project was a total sellout.
“We’ll make Vizhinjam one of the world’s largest container trans-shipment of the world. It’s going to transform the maritime future of the entire Indian subcontinent,” Adani said after signing the agreement.
Opposition leaders also boycotted the signing ceremony, though the Adanis also extended a personal invitation to its prominent leaders. However, leaders of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) were present.
“Currently, India-related containers are going into foreign ports like Salalah, Colombo, and Singapore. We’ll try and do it here,” Adani said. “The Vizhinjam port ecosystem is one of the biggest demand-stimulator for Kerala”.
The public-private partnership (PPP) share of the project is Rs40.89bn and the federal viability gap funding is Rs8.18bn.
Chandy said the Adanis had already in talks with major shipping companies to attract enough container volume to the port from the beginning of its operations itself.
“This is my government’s Onam for the people. Kerala is surging forward,” he said. “I want to make it clear here that we would fulfil all our commitments and make it a huge success”.
Adani Ports is also developing a port city allotted to it on a long-term lease, which reportedly includes luxury hotels and shopping malls. The federal government has offered to provide highway and rail connectivity to the port.
The government has also announced a Rs2.2bn package, with federal assistance, for the rehabilitation of the traditional anglers who are likely to be affected during construction.
Vessels with up to 18,000-TEU capacity will be able to anchor at the port which boasts of a natural draft of 20 meters and proximity to international shipping channel between West and East Asia.