With the strike called off at Vizhinjam International Seaport, the Kerala government and Adani Group decided to resume work on the ₹7,500-crore all-weather port on Thursday. Though the concessionaire company, Adani Vizhinjam Port Private Limited, which develops the port on Design, Build, Finance, Operate, Transfer basis, has lost around 140 days due to the protracted strike by the fishermen led by the Latin Archdiocese, Thiruvananthapuram, the government is of the view that the company has lost only around 60-70 days due to the strike.
“During the peak monsoon months, the company used to suspend work on the port when the sea turned rough. It was only in September that the work resumed after the monsoon break. Considering this pattern, the lost mandays will be around 60-70 and these can be recouped by pressing additional workforce and machinery,” said K. Gopalakrishnan, managing director of Vizhinjam International Seaport Limited (VISL).
Breakwater work
According to government estimates, around 60-65% of the total work of the port has been completed. However, the work on the breakwater, which was the bone of contention between the fisherfolk and the State government, with the former blaming it for aggravating coastal erosion, is far from over. Only 1.4 km of the total 3.1 km has been completed yet. In addition, only 33% of dredging is over. Only after the completion of the breakwater works, can the remaining dredging, reclamation of sea, and container berth works be resumed.
Issue of damages
However, the State and concessionaire company are hopeful of commissioning the project for commercial operations by December 2024. The project, the contract of which was signed on August 17, 2015, was to be commissioned in December 2019. As per the agreement signed between the company and the State government, from three months after the deadline, the latter can levy damages for each day of delay in completing the project. It also remains to be seen whether the State government would agree to the reported loss incurred by the company due to the strike. The company had earlier quoted around ₹2 crore of loss per day due to the protest.
