Date:05/12/2006 URL: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2006/12/05/stories/2006120501032100.htm

Back Kerala to hold all-party meet on Vizhinjam

Our Bureau

Thiruvananthapuram , Dec. 4

The State Government will convene an all-party meeting to discuss the course of action for realising the long-delayed international container transhipment terminal at Vizhinjam near here.

The Chief Minister, Mr V.S. Achuthanandan, told newspersons after a Cabinet meeting on Monday that the date for the meeting would be decided shortly.

Issues

The meeting will deliberate all the issues concerning the project, including putting pressure on the Centre to clear it at the earliest. The Centre had declined to give approval to an Indo-Chinese consortium to take up the project on a build-operate-transfer (BOT) basis for security reasons.

The previous United Democratic Front (UDF) government had selected the consortium, comprising the Mumbai-based Zoom Developers and two Chinese firms, namely, Kaidi Electric Company and China Harbour Engineering Company, after floating a global tender. However, the project got stuck at that stage in the absence of Centre's clearance.

According to sources familiar with the developments, the Government may decide to go in for a fresh global tender to identify a new partner for the project.