THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: CPM State Secretary MV Govindan said many people are claiming the paternity of Vizhinjam port. He stated that naming the port after former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy is ridiculous and the project was taken forward when the LDF government came to power. He was speaking after inaugurating the mass gathering organized by CPM at Vizhinjam.

Govindan said that it was CPM that took the project forward because if the project ended Kerala's great potential would have been lost and the Congress tried not to carry out the project at that time. They decided that the project should not be carried out, but it was carried out as a result of the strong intervention of the government and the left. MV Govindan added that people are happy and Vizhinjam will become the most important port in the world.

Meanwhile, the first ship 'Shenhua 15' which arrived at Vizhinjam port with cranes will be officially received tomorrow. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan will inaugurate the ceremony at 4 pm in the presence of Union Shipping Minister Sarbananda Sonowal. A water salute will be given to the ship. About 5,000 people will participate in the function. Adani Vizhinjam Port Limited Chairman Karan Adani, CEO Rajesh Jha, Union Minister V Muraleedharan, State Ministers, Leader of Opposition etc. will participate in the function. It will be open to the public from 1 pm.

State and central governments got an income of 30 crores with the arrival of the first ship. This was under the grounds of 18 percent GST on the price of the cranes delivered here. 30 crore was paid to the treasury as tax yesterday.