The Kerala cabinet decided to award the Vizhinjam port construction project to lone bidder Adani Ports.Chief minister Oommen Chandy said work will begin on November 1.
The letter of award will be handed over after the chief electoral officer's clearance model code is in force in the district due to the Aruvikkara by-polls and the agreement will be signed after Adani Ports forms a special purpose vehicle. Chandy said if the Election Commission's sanction is received, the agreement will be inked in the first week of July.
Chandy dismissed the corruption charges levelled by the opposition and said Adani Ports has expertise in building and operating ports in the country . “The project would have started 25 years ago but could not materialize. Now, the situation is that if we lose this opportunity it is never going to happen. Already we are facing a threat rom the Colachel port,“ Chandy said. Opposition leader V S Achuthanandan slammed the decision and alleged that “corruption to the tune of several crores of rupees“ had taken place.
Adani Ports, Achuthanandan said, has to spend Rs.4,089 crore in the Rs.7,525 crore project. But with the Chandy government offering a grant of Rs.1,635 crore, the Adani Ports will only have to spend Rs.2,454 crore, one third of the total project cost. This, he alleged, was much lower than what the previous government had decided to mobilise from a consortium of financial institutions.
The letter of award will be handed over after the chief electoral officer's clearance model code is in force in the district due to the Aruvikkara by-polls and the agreement will be signed after Adani Ports forms a special purpose vehicle. Chandy said if the Election Commission's sanction is received, the agreement will be inked in the first week of July.
Chandy dismissed the corruption charges levelled by the opposition and said Adani Ports has expertise in building and operating ports in the country . “The project would have started 25 years ago but could not materialize. Now, the situation is that if we lose this opportunity it is never going to happen. Already we are facing a threat rom the Colachel port,“ Chandy said. Opposition leader V S Achuthanandan slammed the decision and alleged that “corruption to the tune of several crores of rupees“ had taken place.
Adani Ports, Achuthanandan said, has to spend Rs.4,089 crore in the Rs.7,525 crore project. But with the Chandy government offering a grant of Rs.1,635 crore, the Adani Ports will only have to spend Rs.2,454 crore, one third of the total project cost. This, he alleged, was much lower than what the previous government had decided to mobilise from a consortium of financial institutions.
No comments:
Post a Comment