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MEGAPROJECT: Vizhinjam Container Transshipment Terminal | Under Construction

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#1 · (Edited)
News and information about the Rs 10,000 Crore Vizhinjam Deep Water and Container Transshipment Terminal project being developed on the southern outskirts of Trivandrum.

First, a quick recap of the project.

Lanco-led group bags Rs 8,000-cr project for Vizhinjam port


The consortium led by Hyderabad-based Lanco Kondapalli Power Pvt Ltd (LKPPL) has anchored the first phase contract for the Rs 5,348-crore Vizhinjam Deepwater Container Transhipment Terminal Project, India's first motherport. The first phase is for Rs 2,300-crore infrastructure development.

One may recall that Vizhinjam port project was thrown to retendering tables because Cabinet committee on security had vetoed clearance to the two Chinese partners in consortium-led by Mumbai-based Zoom Developers. This time the qualifying consortium led by the Indian firms Lanco Kondapalli Power and Lanco Infratech has a Malaysian partner Pembinan Redzai group in tow.

The qualifying group had quoted Rs 35 crore less in debt support, state port minister M Vijayakumar said. The Malaysian partner will also require security nod from the Cabinet. The bid selection committee chaired by Kerala chief secretary recommended the consortium headed by Lanco Power. The other consortia were DS Constructions, in association with Apollo Enterprises Ltd and KGL Ports International, Dubai; Nagarjuna Construction Company (Hyderabad), Maytas and OPM (Singapore); Videocon Industries Ltd (Mumbai), Gammon India, Gammon Infra and Sical Logistics; Lanco Infratech (Hyderabad), Lanco Power and Pembinan Redzai Sdn Bdh (Malaysia); and Zoom Developers (Mumbai), Portia Management Services and UK’s Peter Fraenkael and Partners.

Five consortia had been in the last round of the bidding race. The Phase I of the project is envisaged to be complete in three years, the minister said. Work on the first phase is envisaged to be underway within six months. As soon as the state cabinet clears the choice, the procedures will be set in motion for a special purpose vehicle for project implementation, he said.

About 40 companies had picked up RFQ papers for the Phase I of the project. Some of them include Denmark-based Maersk, Australia-based Alberg Ports, Japan-based Nissin Corporation, UK-based Beckett Rankine, Dubai Ports World, Netherlands-based Cyan Holdings BV, US-based Obocon Inc, Kuwait-based KGL Transport, Indonesia-based Astra International and Malaysia-based Pembinan Redzai group.

The Indian firms who took the plunge, in the early rounds, include RIL, ADAG, SCI, Gammon India, Mudra Port and Special Economic Zone, Ashok Leyland Project Services, Emaar MGF Land, Essar Constructions, Soma Enterprises, Zoom Developers and JM Baxi Group.
According to the developers, the ultimate capacity of the port will be about 6.5 million TEUs. This is about 25% of the capacity of the Port of Singapore, the world's busiest container port.

Vizhinjam has a number of inherent advantages which are strategic and nearly unbeatable in nature:

- A draft of 18 m, just 1 kilometer from the shore and which can be increased upto 25 m with minimal dredging.

- Located on the Southern tip of the sub-continent, it is just 10-12 nautical miles from the busy Persian Gulf - Malacca shipping lanes which carry almost a third of the world shipping traffic.

- Vizhinjam has minimal littoral drift which eliminates the need for major annual dredging, unlike estuarine ports like Cochin.

- It is located within the suburbs of a major city.

- The NH-47 passes just 2 Kms away from the site and the main rail line only 8 Kms away.


Vizhinjam is currently the only port in India capable of achieving a draught of over 18 m without major capital dredging. This makes it the only port in India capable of handling giant ships like today's super-container ships and supertankers.

The port will look to attract the largest container-ships of today for transshipment, like the 12,000 TEU capacity Emma Maersk, which cannot dock at any other Indian port.



As envisaged in the above concept view, Vizhinjam will have the following features:

- Breakwaters up to 6 Km long
- Six berths for motherships
- Up to ten berths for feeder vessels
- 400 acres of container yards and other areas, reclaimed from the sea
- Around 2 Sq.km of basin area
- A basin draft of 18-24 m
- Bunkering facilities
- Dedicated 110 KV sub-station and water treatment plant
- Elevated road and rail connections


 
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#9,688 ·
Vizhinjam port aerial view





Photo- Renjan Kn
A S George, I am at a loss of words to thank you for such valuable contribution to all the Trivandrum sub-Fora. The photos posted by you give such wonderful insights into each project, giving us a first hand feel of the work taking place. Thank you, once again. Please do keep up with this great task and keep us all excited about the positive developments in and around our City.
 
#9,689 · (Edited)
A S George, I am at a loss of words to thank you for such valuable contribution to all the Trivandrum sub-Fora. The photos posted by you give such wonderful insights into each project, giving us a first hand feel of the work taking place. Thank you, once again. Please do keep up with this great task and keep us all excited about the positive developments in and around our City.
Breakwater construction seems to have dropped pace. Availability of rocks could be a reason.
Rajesh, from the news item on the casting of accropodes that Hashinc has posted, it appears that the breakwater construction will gather steam only with the placing of the accropodes on the deep sea bed. from some of the earlier news reports it seems dropping rubble into the sea bed has not been working here. The rubble has been shifting away from the intended location due strong sea currents.

So now I guess the breakwater construction will speed up once sufficient number of accropodes are cast and then possibly each 1.20 MT piece will be lowered into the sea bed in the precise location. From the figures mentioned in the news item it looks like they can cast 72 pieces per day (24 per shift x 3 shifts), against a total requirement of 10,600 accropodes. That means they will need around 150 working days to complete the casting, providing there is no shortage of sand, blue metal and cement.

As of this recent photo, only 700 metres of the total length of 3000 plus metres have been completed in two years. This work has been executed in relatively shallow waters and now moving forward to much deeper waters.
 
#9,690 ·
I am sure they would have considered it, but in case of shortage of rocks, Accropodes (I am still a votary of Tetrapodes!) can fill the gap (literally so). They have mass and strength apart from the advantage of cohesion due to inter-locking. As far as the extensive use of rocks is concerned, I think the mail reason is free availability. That apart, they have less mass and cohesion to each other than Accropodes. In the central core, to form a voidless mass, smaller pieces of rock can be used to fill the voids. If Adani is not considering this, one of our esteemed forum members can have an informal chat with them.
 
#9,692 ·
I am sure they would have considered it, but in case of shortage of rocks, Accropodes (I am still a votary of Tetrapodes!) can fill the gap (literally so). They have mass and strength apart from the advantage of cohesion due to inter-locking. As far as the extensive use of rocks is concerned, I think the mail reason is free availability. That apart, they have less mass and cohesion to each other than Accropodes. In the central core, to form a voidless mass, smaller pieces of rock can be used to fill the voids. If Adani is not considering this, one of our esteemed forum members can have an informal chat with them.
Accropodes (or Tetrapodes) are only used as Primary Armour (i.e., top layer). The secondary Armour (layer below the primary consisting medium size rocks) and the core (central portion of quarry runs) have to be rocks only. The situation appears to be similar to the challenge of maintenance of dredged depth at Vallarpadam.

Don't know why VISL did not pursue with less rock consuming alternative method of hybrid structure consisting of a rock foundation supporting a concrete vertical wall. (Ref: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/alternative-form-breakwater-construction-vizhinjam-port-abdul-rahim)
 
#9,693 ·
I agree

Accropodes (or Tetrapodes) are only used as Primary Armour (i.e., top layer). The secondary Armour (layer below the primary consisting medium size rocks) and the core (central portion of quarry runs) have to be rocks only. The situation appears to be similar to the challenge of maintenance of dredged depth at Vallarpadam.

Don't know why VISL did not pursue with less rock consuming alternative method of hybrid structure consisting of a rock foundation supporting a concrete vertical wall. (Ref: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/alternative-form-breakwater-construction-vizhinjam-port-abdul-rahim)
I agree that it is the conventional practice. However, when larger rocks are hard to come by, we need to think of alternative methods as availability of smaller aggregate to cast the Accropodes is never an issue. It can be sourced even from the nearby Vellar and Neeroli quarries near Pachalloor.
I know that cost wise what I suggested is not a preferable option, but technically the interlocking pods are any day more stable than rocks. rectangular 12 Tonne concrete blocks are also used in the core of the breakwater as they form a solid mass. Both podes and rocks are used to dissipate the wave force and in the central core the need is for mass.
I hope the problem with the sourcing of rocks is soon overcome and the Project is completed as scheduled to fulfil a long cherished dream!
 
#9,694 ·
State defends Vizhinjam projec

The Hindu
Three-member panel appointed to look into CAG report, HC told

The State government is of the view that the activities of the Vizhinjam International Seaport Project cannot be “arbitrarily brought to an end considering the socio-economic benefits to be derived out of the project.”

The views of the government were made known before the High Court in an affidavit filed by P.T. Joy, the Under Secretary to the government, Fisheries and Ports Department, in a case filed by M.K. Salim of Kollam seeking a CBI probe into the agreement entered into between the State government and M/s Adani Ports and Special Economic Zones Limited for the implementation of the project. The petitioner had also highlighted the conclusions of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG).

The State government submitted that it had appointed a three-member commission to look into the reports of the CAG into the implementation of the Vizhinjam International Multipurpose Deepwater Seaport project. The government has also taken serious view of the CAG report and has requested the three-member panel to look into the report, the Sate submitted before the High Court.

Meanwhile, former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, in his affidavit stated that though the State government led by the LDF had decided and declared to proceed with the project, it may not be “presenting the actual affairs which culminated in the award of the project” before the High Court “due to political overtones.”

He submitted that “unless and until all the relevant materials are placed before the court, the court may be prevented from arriving at a just conclusion.”

The former Chief Minister said the present LDF Ministry “may not be interested in presenting the correct statement of facts before the court, since they want to take advantage of the situation created by the report of the CAG, which was actually framed not on correct set of facts and figures.”

Mr. Chandy submitted that the “CAG report is itself flawed in as much as the observations therein are solely on the basis of the report of the Principal Accountant General (PAG). The PAG report was prepared in total non-compliance of the audit guidelines and bad for serious procedural lapses and impropriety occurred in the audit process,” he submitted.
cheers!!!
 
#9,696 ·
Good move by OC.:chill:
Exactly
....ഈ പദ്ധതി നടന്നാൽ നമ്മൾ ഏറ്റവും കൂടുതൽ നന്ദി രേഖപ്പെടുത്തേണ്ടത് ശ്രീ ചാണ്ടിയോടാണ്.... Only because of the decision taken by him the project is in implementation stage. Or else it would have still remained in paper only
 
#9,699 ·
Thats also correct. But kolachel is already taken up along with vizhinjam
So far Colachel project, being developed by GOI, seems to be good for Adanis / Vizhinjam Port – in terms of infrastructure developments like doubling and electrification of railway lines, building up of economic corridors between Chennai and Kanyakumari/Vizhinjam, etc.
 
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