Kerala unhappy with Centre's nod for Colachel port

KOCHI: Kerala has voiced its concern over the move by the central government to give clearance to a container port at Colachel in Tamil Nadu, which is less than 50 km away from the Vizinjam container port near Thiruvananthapuram.

Kerala Minister for Ports Kadannappally Ramachandran expressed his concern over the Centre’s move to allow another container port to come up near Vizinjam terminal.

On Thursday, Veteran CPM leader V S Achuthanandan said the Centre’s plan to sanction Colachel is with a view to sabotage Vizinjam terminal. He said handing over Vizinjam project and Colachel project to the private sector will be a threat to the region.

The CPM leader said the matter should be discussed by the Kerala assembly. Earlier, Kadannappally Ramachandran had also said he will meet Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to discuss the issue and take up the matter with the Centre.

He said that the Centre’s decision was unfair. Colachel port is being built at an estimated cost of Rs 25,000 crore. The Phase I of the project will cost Rs 6,575 crore. The Rs 7,525-crore Vizinjam port is being built by Adani ports.