The construction of the 3.1 km-long-breakwater, a critical component of the International Multipurpose Deepwater Seaport project at Vizhinjam that has come to a standstill since April 2017, will resume this month.
The multi-port operator tasked with the execution of the ambitious PPP project, Adani Vizhinjam Ports Ltd. (AVPL), has decided to source granite from Tamil Nadu for the breakwater and move it via sea from the Tuticorin port.
Calmer seaADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
“The effort is to use the sea route from October last week with the sea getting calmer. We will deploy nine transport barges and three positioning barges. As many as 100 excavators will be in place. The aim is to make available two lakh tonnes of granite a month to expedite the construction of the breakwater,” Rajesh Jha, CEO, AVPL, told The Hindu .
As much as 60 lakh tonnes of granite has to be procured by the AVPL for the construction of the remaining 2.5-km critical portion of the breakwater in the deepwater zone that ranges from 16 to 20 m. Another 10 lakh tonnes of granite is needed for the construction of the berth.
ADVERTISEMENT
The AVPL is also gearing up to mobilise granite locally from the districts of Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, and Pathanamthitta. As many as 20 quarries had been identified in the southern districts with the help of the government and steps for getting the clearance are on. The AVPL will directly manage 11 and nine will be through private suppliers.
“Already, two quarries are operational. By March 2020, 10 quarries in three districts will be operational,” Mr. Jha said. The AVPL will operate barges from Kollam, Muthalapozhi, and Tuticorin for transporting granite to the site. Only 20% of the 3.1-km-long breakwater and 40% of dredging and reclamation has been completed since the work began in December 2015. Seven million cubic metres of sand is needed for reclamation of 130 acres of sea for the container yard. Only 2.8 million cubic metres have been reclaimed by the AVPL.
The AVPL will miss the December 2019 deadline set to commission Phase I of the seaport as per the concession pact inked between the State and the company in August 2015. The AVPL was also not able to meet the 1,000-day target of September 1, 2018, announced by Adani Group chairman Gautam S. Adani while inking the pact.
The dredging and work on the construction of the breakwater were badly hit by Cyclone Ockhi in November 2017, the southwest monsoon of 2018, and shortage of granite.