THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: With the dispute over the Viability Gap Funding (VGF) resolved, the government will once again officially invite the Prime Minister for the Vizhinjam Port commissioning. The Prime Minister's Office had not previously responded to the Chief Minister's letter requesting time for commissioning. The letter will be sent officially again once the Parliament session ends. The Chief Minister may also visit Delhi and invite the Prime Minister personally.

Port commissioning no longer requires any central approvals. All the world's largest ships have already touched Vizhinjam Port. Therefore, commissioning can be done without any technical inspections. The central VGF of Rs 817.8 crore will be received only after commissioning. The state will start receiving revenue 10 years after commissioning.

The Centre has received environmental clearance for the construction of the next phases of the port. Land for the second phase of development will be reclaimed from the sea. The container terminal will be extended by another 1,200 metres to 2,000 metres. The dredging will reclaim 77.17 hectares of land required to build a container yard with an annual capacity of up to 3 million containers. In the first phase, 63 hectares of land were reclaimed from the sea.

Minister V.N. Vasavan said the decision to purchase the Centre's 817.80 crore VGF with repayment terms was made keeping in mind the future development of the state. The state spent 4600 crore in the first phase. The government has provided Rs 1350 crore for the Pulimuttu(breakwaters). Rs 1482.92 crore will also be spent on the railway for freight movement.