Thiruvananthapuram: The State Government is seeking relaxation in Viability Gap Funding (VGF) norms for making Central assistance possible for the multi-crore Vizhinjam international container transshipment terminal project. The state has urged the Centre to exempt it from two conditions for VGF. One, that the project should offer a service having pre-determined tariff, and, two, the VGF would be limited to 20 per cent of the project cost.
The government has made the request to Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram and Union Shipping Minister G K Vasan, Ports Minister K Babu said. The VGF comes in the form of grants and is a Central scheme for supporting infrastructure projects under PPP. The Centre will provide up to 20 per cent of the project cost as the VGF. The State Govt can add another 20 per cent to it. Another condition is that the project should be of a nature that provides services against payment of a pre-determined tariff.
The conditions make the Vizhinjam project ineligible for VGF. The concession period for the Vizhinjam port is 30 years. A pre-determined tariff is not possible in a port, said VISL CEO A S Suresh Babu. As per latest estimates, phase-I cost of the project is Rs 4,010 crore. The private partner will shell out Rs 970 crore and the state govt has to raise the remaining Rs 3,040 crore. The Vizhinjam International Seaport Ltd (VISL) has also asked the state govt to get the centre extend the Cabotage relaxation given
02:40 PM, Aug 09, 2012
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The State Government might be saddled with just one bidder for the post of port operator for the Vizhinjam seaport project, but fresh enquiries have started coming in from abroad with the government readying to float global tenders for constructing the port.Over the past two months, teams representing the governments of Britain, Japan, Germany and Canada had met the officials of the Vizhinjam International Seaport Ltd (VISL) evincing interest...
08:50 AM, May 24, 2012
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Thiruvananthapurams pet project has got a new tagline - Where the Future Docks. The tagline heralds a new, limited edition brochure the Vizhinjam International Seaport Ltd (VISL) has brought out on the Vizhinjam International Deepwater Seaport Project. Richly designed in deep greens and blues, the brochure offers a quick glimpse into the whys, whats and hows of the project. The highlight is a panoramic shot of the project area...
11:52 AM, Mar 30, 2012
