Though the Vizhinjam International Seaport is set to redefine the maritime history of the country, the presence of a Chinese company at Vizhinjam raises some questions over the practicability of importing critical infrastructure for the next phase of the development of the port.
A letter issued by the Union government in 2020 has placed restrictions on public procurement from countries sharing land borders with India, citing national security. The order is applicable for procurements done in public-private-partnership (PPP) projects receiving financial aid from the Government of India or public sector enterprises/undertakings. The Vizhinjam seaport project also comes under the purview of this order since the Centre provides viability gap funding (VGF) as a loan to the project along with financial support under the Special Assistance for State Capital Investment Scheme (CapEx).
Political, security clearances
Further, the order stipulated that the entity that intends to supply goods will have to get registered here by submitting an application to a competent authority. On receiving the application seeking registration from the bidder from a country that shares a land border with India, the competent authority shall first seek political and security clearances from the Union Ministries of External Affairs and Home Affairs. Registration will not be allowed unless both political and security clearances have been received, as per the order.
At Vizhinjam, Chinese-based company ZPMC, a leading global player in the crane manufacturing industry, has supplied 32 automated cranes – 8 ship-to-shore cranes being used to load/unload containers from ships to docks and 24 yard cranes as well as operating subsystems and software for container management.
May not be applicable
However, since Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Limited placed the order for Phase 1 cranes with ZPMC back in 2018, well ahead of when the order came into effect (July 2020), the restrictions may not be applicable.
The next phase of construction of the port, for which an agreement has been signed by the concessionaire with the Kerala government to execute the work by 2028, requires at least 48 more cranes, including 12 ship-to-shore cranes and 36 yard cranes. As per the pre-feasibility report, a sum of ₹4,488 crore is required to procure the cranes from China, including for their automation.
It is not clear whether the company is registered in India as per the clauses in the 2020 Union government directive. When asked, the State government officials said they would seek clarification from the Centre, while the sources in the Adani Group said the company has a registered arm in India and the procurement can be executed as per schedule with the help of the Indian arm of the company.
Interestingly, when cranes were brought here in the first phase, the Centre did not grant permission to the Chinese crew to land here, and Indian employees trained in the automation of the cranes brought from Mumbai installed the cranes here at Vizinjam.
Source: The Hindu