Kerala’s Vizhinjam Port project faces hurdle as Centre alters Rs 817-cr grant into loan

As the first phase of commissioning of the Vizhinjam Port is scheduled for December, the Central Government's move to convert its financial assistance into a loan has become a major challenge for Kerala. The state is deeply dissatisfied with the Central Government's decision to convert the Rs 817-crore viability gap funding (VGF) for the port into a loan. The state government has expressed its desire for the Centre to reconsider its stance and proceed with the commissioning as planned. During the trial run, the Vizhinjam Port has already handled a historic milestone of one lakh containers. In this context, the Centre’s political maneuvering has added to the challenge. Four months into the trial run, Adani Ports, which operates the port, has handled 1,00,807 containers. The world's largest shipping company, MSC, has unloaded containers from its 400-meter-long mother ships at the port. Cargo continues to be transported to and from both domestic and international ports. The state treasury has received Rs 7.4 crore in taxes from this revenue, which is a significant achievement considering no other port has handled as much cargo during its trial run. Despite these favorable developments, the state has strongly criticized the Centre for not providing financial support. The Central and state governments, in collaboration with Adani Ports, are supposed to provide VGF for the construction of