The rail connectivity to the upcoming Vizhinjam International Multipurpose Deepwater Seaport here will be from Balaramapuram railway station on the Thiruvananthapuram-Kanyakumari railway line.
The proposal prepared for the 12-km connectivity to the seaport by Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd (RVNL) will be submitted to Railways for approval, Minister for Ports Kadannappally Ramachandran told the Assembly on Monday.
The government is also trying to get funds from the Sagarmala project of the Union Ministry of Shipping for laying the rail link to the Vizhinjam seaport.
The Minister said the soil testing, survey and link road for the breakwater had been completed.
Of the 3,100-metre breakwater, the 538-metre core had been completed. Of the 53 hectares that had to be reclaimed from the sea, 15 hectares had been reclaimed so far. The 92.62 hectares of land needed for the project had already been acquired and steps are on to complete the remaining 12 hectares.
A 160-metre bund had been constructed using granite as part of the berths. Adani Vizhinjam Port Private Ltd (AVLP) of Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd. (APSEZ), the private multi-port operator selected to build the superstructure and operate the seaport, is executing the works as per the pact inked on August 17, 2015.
The AVLP has been given 1,460 days to complete the ₹7,525-crore Phase I project, but the Ports Minister said they have announced it will be accomplished in 1,000 days. The government has given compensation to the tune of ₹14.32 crore to those displaced from the project site.
The Minister said compensation to the tune of ₹23.80 crore was sanctioned during the previous UDF regime under the rehabilitation package and only ₹ 20.38 crore had been disbursed till date.
