Kerala CM welcomes first-ever ship to Vizhinjam port, Cong credits Oommen Chandy for it

Thiruvananthapuram, Oct 15 (PTI) Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Sunday welcomed the first ever ship at the Rs 7,700 crore international deep-water port at Vizhinjam here at an event which saw the Congress attribute credit for the project to late party stalwart Oommen Chandy.

As Vijayan said the scope of development that the port would bring to the state was beyond imagination and the arrival of the first ship shows nothing was impossible for Kerala, the Congress said it was all possible only due to the initiatives taken by Chandy when he was the CM.

Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the state assembly V D Satheesan said Chandy bravely took the decision to make Vizhinjam port a reality even when he was accused of piracy and selling real-estate worth Rs 6,000 crore to the Adani group.

"He did not flinch or back down or give up in the face of such accusations," the LoP said while speaking at the event.

Congress MP from Thiruvananthapuram Shashi Tharoor, who too spoke at the event, said it was thanks to the initiative taken by Chandy that the project -- which was stagnant from 2004 to 2010 -- moved forward.

Chandy ensured all studies were carried out and all approvals were received from the Centre during his tenure.

Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) chief K Sudhakaran, in a statement, slammed Vijayan for not commemorating Chandy as was done by state Ports Minister Ahamed Devarkovil.

Sudhakaran alleged that Vijayan was "unlucky" as he was destined to inaugurate projects initiated by the former CM.

Union Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan, on the other hand, attributed credit for the project to the Narendra Modi government.

He said the project was an outcome of the good governance of the Modi government.

Muraleedharan said new life was breathed into the port project in 2015 only after the Modi government came to power.

Meanwhile, Karan Adani -- CEO of Adani Ports and SEZ Ltd -- in a post on social media platform X said that the project journey began in 2015 and the momentous occasion was due to the trust and love shown by all.

"Our journey began in 2015 when the people of Kerala and Thiruvananthapuram entrusted us with their dream of this port. Today, as the 1st vessel berths at #VizhinjamPort, the trust & love shown by all have brought us to this momentous day. My heartfelt salutation to each one of you," he said.

The CM, in his speech on the occasion, said the arrival of the first ship at the deep water port indicates "nothing is impossible for Kerala" and that the state "will survive any crisis".

"The scope of development in Kerala due to Vizhinjam port is beyond our imagination. Therefore, we should all take an approach conducive for it," he said.

He said that with the coming of the first ship at the port, "we are at the threshold of our dream project becoming a reality".

"This port is a major contribution to the country from Kerala," he added.

Satheesan, in his speech, while welcoming the arrival of the first ship and the expected development, reminded the CM not to forget the plight of the fishermen who were affected as a result of the project.

He said no poor man's tears should fall in the ocean in the name of development and it was the responsibility of everyone to ensure they are rehabilitated.

"Development is imperative, but the common man should not be thrown into slums and cement warehouses for the sake of it," he said and added that it was Chandy who had set aside over Rs 400 crore for the rehabilitation of the fisherfolk who would be affected due to the port project.

While speaking about the project, the CM also said that of the Rs 7,700 crore, Rs 818 crore was sanctioned by the Centre as a viability gap fund and that it was the first time this was done for construction of a port in the country.

On this aspect, Tharoor said that it was due to the efforts taken by Chandy to meet then Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley that resulted in the Centre approving the viability gap fund of Rs 818 crore.

Vijayan's remarks, that there were various international and commercial lobbies which were against the construction of the port and actively worked to prevent it from coming up, were also criticised by the Congress.

Reacting to his remarks about the lobbies opposing the port, Sudhakaran alleged that it was Vijayan who tried to end the Vizhinjam port project by any means.

The KPCC chief further alleged that the veteran Left leader opposed the project by claiming corruption of Rs 6,000 crore in it and setting up a Commission of Inquiry against Chandy.

Earlier, Vijayan waved a green flag signalling the tugboats to push the huge Chinese ship -- Zhen Hua 15 -- from the wharf to the docking yard.

The tugboats pushing the vessel, which carries huge ship-to-shore and yard cranes, also gave it a water salute.

As the vessel touched the dock, firecrackers were burst and balloons released to welcome it.

Hundreds of people, across all age groups, arrived at the port area to see the ship arrive at the dock.

Zhen Hua 15 -- which began its journey from China at the end of August, was scheduled to dock at Vizhinjam on October 4, but its journey got delayed due to bad weather conditions along its route.

On reaching Indian coastal waters, it first went to Mundra port in Gujarat to offload some cranes there and then proceeded towards Vizhinjam.

The Vizhinjam port is being constructed under the public-private partnership model. The Adani Group is the private partner in the development of what will become one of the largest ports in the world, once commissioned.

The project, scheduled to be commissioned in 2019, was delayed due to several issues related to land acquisition.

Vizhinjam witnessed violent protests as fishermen in the area opposed the project, alleging that the port would adversely affect their livelihood. PTI HMP HMP SS