PM to lay foundation for container terminal

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will arrive in Kerala for a two-day visit on Tuesday. The main programme of his hectic schedule is the foundation stone laying ceremony of Vallarpadam International Container Terminal (VICT) on Tuesday.

The venue of the ceremony, originally planned to be held at the project site itself has been shifted to Willington Island for security reasons. The Special Protection Group (SPG) of the Prime Minister have ruled Vallarpadam Island to be unsafe.

The Prime Minister will conduct the ceremony at the Kendriya Vidyalaya grounds at Willington Island adjacent to Hotel Taj Malabar where he will stay, on Wednesday.

Prime Minister's visit to Vallarpadam shrine, which was recently declared as a national pilgrimage centre by Pope John Paul II, has also been cancelled.

VICT is taking off at last after a 14 year long process The project was originally planned way back in 1990 and global tender had been invited twice.

The Rs 1,868 crore project is vital for the infrastructure development of Kerala. Dubai Port International (DPI) had been awarded the contract for developing a hub port at Vallarpadam on a build-operate-transfer (BOT) basis in 30 years.

For that purpose Rajiv Gandhi Container Terminal (RGCT) will also be handed over to DPI and they will operate the terminal. The full-fledged functioning of RGCT under DPI will commence in three months, according to port officials.

The revenue from the terminal will be shared between DPI and the port on a 67:33 basis.