The schedule set by the State Government in April for the Vizhinjam Container Transshipment Terminal Project has been chucked into the dustbin with interested companies seeking more time to study the project by using their own consultants.
Extending the deadline for the fourth time, now it’s January 31, for submitting bids for the Rs 5,348-crore project, the government has resigned itself to the fact that the port construction will not start in December 2008 as planned.
“We’ve no other option. The companies said they wanted more time to study the project. They have appointed separate consultants to study it,” Law and Ports Minister M.Vijayakumar told this website's newspaper.
“The schedule is not the important thing now. We’ve better offers currently than we had before. So a delay of one or two months won’t matter,” he said.
All of the 30-odd companies that bought bid documents placed written requests before the government to extend the deadline, Vijayakumar said.
After the Cabinet approved it on Tuesday, the government on Thursday issued orders extending the deadline. Till Friday, the deadline set on October 17, no company has placed a bid.
After fixing the project schedule at an investors’ meet in April, the state government floated fresh global tenders in August.
That itself was a delay because August was the deadline for submitting the bids. According to the schedule, the contract should have been awarded in November this year.
Among the 30-odd companies that have evinced interest in the project, ten consortiums have been formed, the Ports Minister said.
Also, RITES, appointed to study road and rail alignment to the port, has finalised its report, he said.
The first time the State Government floated global tenders for the project, only two parties showed up - Gammon India and a three-member consortium made up of Chinese firms China Harbour Engineering Company and Kaidi Electric Power Company, and Mumbai-based Zoom Developers.
Though the Cabinet approved awarding of contract to the Chinese consortium in December 2005, and submitted it to the Centre for clearance in January, 2006, the clearance was denied citing security concerns.
This led to the invitation of fresh bids. The project is being implemented on BOT basis.
The State Government will have 24 percent stake in the project which has to be handed over to the state after the concession period of 30 years.
Extending the deadline for the fourth time, now it’s January 31, for submitting bids for the Rs 5,348-crore project, the government has resigned itself to the fact that the port construction will not start in December 2008 as planned.
“We’ve no other option. The companies said they wanted more time to study the project. They have appointed separate consultants to study it,” Law and Ports Minister M.Vijayakumar told this website's newspaper.
“The schedule is not the important thing now. We’ve better offers currently than we had before. So a delay of one or two months won’t matter,” he said.
All of the 30-odd companies that bought bid documents placed written requests before the government to extend the deadline, Vijayakumar said.
After the Cabinet approved it on Tuesday, the government on Thursday issued orders extending the deadline. Till Friday, the deadline set on October 17, no company has placed a bid.
After fixing the project schedule at an investors’ meet in April, the state government floated fresh global tenders in August.
That itself was a delay because August was the deadline for submitting the bids. According to the schedule, the contract should have been awarded in November this year.
Among the 30-odd companies that have evinced interest in the project, ten consortiums have been formed, the Ports Minister said.
Also, RITES, appointed to study road and rail alignment to the port, has finalised its report, he said.
The first time the State Government floated global tenders for the project, only two parties showed up - Gammon India and a three-member consortium made up of Chinese firms China Harbour Engineering Company and Kaidi Electric Power Company, and Mumbai-based Zoom Developers.
Though the Cabinet approved awarding of contract to the Chinese consortium in December 2005, and submitted it to the Centre for clearance in January, 2006, the clearance was denied citing security concerns.
This led to the invitation of fresh bids. The project is being implemented on BOT basis.
The State Government will have 24 percent stake in the project which has to be handed over to the state after the concession period of 30 years.