Rs 817.80 crore viability gap fund for Vizhinjam port; 20 percent of revenue from port will be shared

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The cabinet meeting has decided to end the dispute with the centre and get Rs 817.80 crore viability gap fund for Vizhinjam port. In return, 20 percent of the state's income from the port should be shared. The government had earlier refused, pointing out that about Rs 12,000 crore would have to be repaid.

The Chief Minister had earlier written a letter requesting to provide a one-time grant instead of a loan, but it did not yield any results. It was decided to accept the VGF following this. The Centre will be informed about this. The government will invite the Prime Minister for the port commissioning.

Minister K.N. Balagopal's suggestion was to seek an interest-free central loan for infrastructure development instead of VGF. This will have a tenure of 50 years. It was decided to take VGF rejecting this suggestion.

VGF should be given to Adani after port commissioning. Although the money is paid by Adani, the state should sign an agreement for repayment. If the repayment is not made, the share provided by the central government through various schemes will be reduced.

Union Shipping Minister Sarbananda Sonowal had clarified that the VGF of Rs 817.80 crore should be repaid from the profit share from 2034 onwards. There will be no relaxation in this.

State VGF 365.10 crore

The VGF to be given by the government to Adani is 365.10 crore. 189.90 crore should be given now. 175.20 crore after completion of all phases.

Repayment only for Vizhinjam

• The centre is providing VGF to ease the additional burden of the states in infrastructure development

• Since 2005, 23,665 crore has been sanctioned as VGF for 238 projects. However, repayment requirement is only for Vizhinjam

Revenue from the port in the first 40 years: 2,15,000 crore

Government's profit during the 36-year operation period: 48,000 crore