Today, let me call your attention to the one infrastructure project that can change the face of Keralam and India - Vizhinjam Port.
Vizhinjam is a coastal village near Thiruvananthapuram district. It's a place that has no parallels in the world. Why, you may wonder. Because:
- It's the only harbour with a natural depth of 24 m - far in excess of the needs of today's biggest tankers!
- It's an all-weather port
- It does not need any dredging anytime during its life.
- It's as near as near can be to international shipping channels.
Thus, you can see that the Vizhinjam port has a competitive advantage over all other ports in India and the world. If it is commissioned, it will dwarf ports like Dubai, Singapore and Colombo. And, this is the reason, in my reckoning, why this project has been hanging fire for so long! Then there are the parochialist politicians of neighbouring states (read: Tamil Nadu) who will go to any end to scuttle any project that will benefit Keralam. Just a few months ago, the project seemed all set to be implemented with a consortium involving a Chinese company being awarded the contract and then the Central Govt raised the bogey of 'security concerns' and have withheld green signal for the project.
What next? The spineless, self-serving politicians of Keralam came out with some 'empty talk' and now everyone seems to have forgotten it. Now FRAT (Federation of Residents' Associations in Trivandrum) is running a signature campaign to get the project moving. Last heard, businessmen like Anil Ambani and Rajeev Chadrashekhar have evinced interest in the project. It's now up to the State Govt to come out with an alternative plan to get this implemented. In my view, the PPP model a la the Cochin International Airports Ltd. is the way out. The SEZ option should also be checked out.
I hope some action will unfold in the coming days......I hope.....and pray.
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