Vizhinjam International Seaport Limited (VISL) has clarified that there is no move to hand over to the Kerala Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (Kinfra) 40 acres of land acquired for warehouses of the Vizhinjam port, either to set up a seafood park or for port city development.
The company has also clarified that there is no proposal to acquire additional land in areas of dense habitation for the port project.
The VISL director board meeting, held on September 26 under the chairmanship of the Chief Minister, had neither discussed any such proposal nor taken any decision on it, VISL managing director A.S. Suresh Babu said in a statement here on Sunday.
Mr. Suresh Babu said all that the director board had done was to grant approval for inclusion in the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) the proposals for setting up a seafood park and to prepare a port city area development plan.
Seafood park
The seafood park would require only four acres of land. No decision had been taken on where to locate it.
The Centrally aided project was expected to create new employment opportunity, contribute to value-addition in the fisheries sector, and enhance export potential in the area. Such export-oriented projects were now coming up in ports across the globe, he pointed out.
Another proposal under consideration was to prepare a port city area development plan and submit it for government approval. This was something announced by the Chief Minister long ago. It was not meant to be implemented in land already acquired or by acquiring additional land. The idea was to prepare an area development plan that was in tune with the area development plans being prepared by various government agencies.
Mr. Suresh Babu said there was also no basis for the propaganda that the ‘topographical survey’ being conducted for preparing the tender documents was meant to acquire land in areas with dense habitation. There was no proposal to acquire land other than in already notified areas. This had been clarified by the Ports Minister.
The campaign to the contrary was being carried out by vested interests. The local population should not fall for such campaigns, Mr. Suresh Babu said.
