Work on Adani Vizhinjam port will resume within a week: Jayakumar

The construction of the Adani Vizhinjam port will resume within a week, the chief executive officer of the Kerala government’s implementing agency for the project said after protests by fisherfolk were called off on Tuesday after 138 days. Jayakumar, who leads Vizhinjam International Seaport (VISL), told Shine Jacob that the country is suffering an annual loss of around Rs 2,500 crore in foreign currency and revenue due to the impact of the project not being finished.

Edited excerpts: 

How much economic loss did you suffer?
 

We have to put in all our efforts to make up for the lost time. We have to catch up with the schedule. That is what the concessionaire (Adani Group) should do; they will have to remobilise and resume the work. We expect to restart the work within a week’s time. Material supply will start soon as some load came two weeks back. That load may be stocked somewhere.
 

We haven’t worked out on the economic side of it. It needs a lot of discussion. We will have to see how to move forward. After a period of one week, things will become more clear. From October onwards, it was a good weather season. Now, we are already in December and close to two months of this ideal season we have lost. We have to also start the preparatory arrangements now.
 

The Adani group fears that the project might overshoot its December 2023 deadline. What is the status about giving an extension?
 

The government has to take a call on that. That will be discussed looking into the impact of the stoppage of work. The arbitration process is already on for not just extension demand, but also force majeure claims by Adani taking into account cyclones like Ockhi, Covid and floods. It is all being examined by the arbitration tribunal.
 

How do you like to take the local community into confidence?
 

We are yet to be aware about the terms of the deal (between fisherfolk and the Kerala government). From my understanding, the Kerala government has taken all the necessary steps for the upliftment of the local fishermen. We will have to put all our efforts into taking them into confidence.
 

We should not delay the project further. Without  reason, work should not be stopped or delay shouldn’t happen as it will be a loss to the country. Vizhinjam port prominently figured in the Maritime India Vision 2030, released by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2021 and identified as a priority project to be completed in three years. The transshipment demand and requirement of our country is also on a rise. There should be concerted efforts from all corners to ensure that we can take the project forward with no bottlenecks.
 

What will be the advantages for India from the project?
 

Now, as a country, we are not having a deep port or transshipment port. As a result, our transhipment process is being done at ports like Colombo, Singapore, Dubai and Salalah. The cargo meant for our country is being handled in these ports as we are not having such deep water ports or facilities.
 

Vizhinjam has a natural advantage because we have an international shipping route running very close to the port. We have a natural water depth of around 20 meters very close to the shore. The port also requires hardly any maintenance dredging. It is also very strategically located as far as the Indian peninsula is concerned.
 

The areas cited as getting affected due to the project have a long history of severe coastal erosion, well before the port work began in April 2016.
 

What is the economic loss that we are suffering?
 

Around 95 per cent of India’s foreign trade is conducted through the sea. In value terms, this works out to 70 per cent of the foreign trade. Nearly 30 per cent of the freight movement takes place through the international shipping route south of the Indian peninsula, which passes 10 nautical miles off Vizhinjam.
 

Despite having all these advantages, we were delayed in implementing it. As a result of which, other countries are taking advantage. This results in significant loss of foreign currency and revenue, estimated to be about Rs 2500 crore a year. Since we are getting the cargo through feeder vessels from Colombo and all, our cost of manufacturing and shipping is going up. With the completion of the Vizhinjam port, we will be able to overcome this serious issue.
 

With this port, instead of feeder, by having excellent road and rail connectivity, containers can be moved via land to almost the four southern states. Our initial planned capacity is 1 million TEU, subsequently, it will be developed by the concessionaire. Ultimate capacity that the port can handle will be 3-4 mn TEU, depending upon the demand.