Bidding process starts for Vizhinjam port

Aiming to have first ship call by May 2015

Vizhinjam International Seaports Ltd. (VISL) on Wednesday floated global tender inviting requests for qualification (RFQ) for the private player to be selected as the port operator at the proposed deepwater container transhipment port at Vizhinjam.

Simultaneously, The VISL also invited RFQ for the engineering, procurement, and construction contract for building the breakwater and associated berths at the proposed port. The berths would include those for the Indian Navy and the Coast Guard, besides a new fish landing centre.

Both the tenders were uploaded on the VISL website www.vizhinjamport.in at a function at the Chief Minister’s conference hall at the Secretariat here.

Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said the State government and the VISL, its agency implementing the project, were moving matters connected with the project in such a way as to have the first ship call at Vizhinjam by May 2015. He noted that the Expert Appraisal Committee of the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests had already recommended the project for environmental clearance.

The scope of the work for the port operator would broadly include ‘development and construction of the port, including the container yard, terminal buildings, cargo handling equipment, construction of berths for the container vessels, facilities for cargo storage and the operation and maintenance thereof.’

Indicative cost of these activities would come to Rs.4,000 crore, according to the RFQ tender.

In this RFQ, the highest bidder will mean the bidder who is offering the highest premium, or, in case no bidder is offering a premium, the bidder who is seeking the lowest grant.

Berths and breakwater

The scope of the work for engineering, procurement, and construction contractor would broadly include ‘survey, investigations, design and construction of the breakwater over a length of about 3,200 m to protect the harbour basin; Naval and Coast Guard berth with a quay length of about 620 m; a port craft berth with a quay length of 120 m and fish landing berths with a quay length of about 500 m; and shall further include their maintenance for a period of three years with a defects liability period of three years.’

The indicative cost of these works would to come to Rs.1,200 crore.