8 more quarries to meet Vizhinjam port demand for granite

13 quarries will be meeting demand

Even as the government is hopeful of sourcing granite required for the SilverLine semi-high speed project from neighbouring States, a review of the Vizhinjam international seaport project reveals that it could procure only 13.36% of the requirement so far from Tamil Nadu.

The rest has been met by quarries inside the State. Further, the State will soon issue permission for eight more quarries to provide material for the Vizhinjam port.

The Mining and Geology Department has given permission for five quarries to supply boulders for the project, of which two are operated by Adani Vizhinjam Port Private Ltd. (AVPPL), the private multi-port operator tasked with building and operating the Vizhinjam seaport, and three by private players.

The port developer has entered an agreement with them that 50% of the stock will be supplied for the project.

In reply to questions in the Assembly, Ports Minister Ahammad Devarkovil said the government had given environmental clearance for five more quarries that would start operations in two to three months.

Environmental clearance for three more quarries had been sought, which was under the consideration of the State Environmental Impact Assessment Agencies, he said.

Together, there would be a total of 13 quarries in Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam and Pathanamthitta soon to cater to the demands of the Vizhinjam port.

However, a senior officer said the project required around another 40 lakh tonne of rock and the quarries, including permission granted and permission awaited, cannot supply sufficient material as per a preliminary estimate considering the quarry stockpiles and restrictions in the State. The AVPPL could complete the work on 1.35 km of the total 3.1-km breakwater till date, apart from another 490 metres of partial work done.

Due to the delay in completing the breakwater, only 33% of the dredging and reclamation works had been completed. Only after the completion of the breakwater works, the remaining dredging, reclamation of sea, and container berth and yard works could be resumed.

A total of 39.78 lakh tonne of granite had been sourced till now as part of the project. The monsoon season would be mainly for stockpiling the raw material as no major work on breakwater could be done during this period, said the officer.