Cabotage law to be relaxed for Vizhinjam

Union Minister for Road Transport, Highways and Shipping Nitin Gadkari on Saturday announced relaxation of cabotage law under the Merchant Shipping Act, 1958 for transhipment of export-import containers at the Vizhinjam International Deepwater Multipurpose seaport.

“The order will be issued within 15 days after I reach Delhi. It will help the Indian flagship industry,” Mr. Gadkari, who was the chief guest at the groundbreaking ceremony of the Mission 676 project, said conceding the request made by the State and concessionaire. Stating that the Centre was ready to support the upcoming seaport at Vizhinjam, the Union Minister said the country needed world class ports for development.

The economy was growing and investors were coming to India and it was the appropriate time to develop ports in the country, he said.

Compared to the 150 million TEUs container transhipment business handled by China, Mr. Gadkari said the country handled only 10 million TEUs. The relaxation of the cabotage law, which protects domestic shipping lines by reserving coastal cargo for Indian ships, was aimed at attracting more cargo to Vizhinjam, he said.

The Union Minister also assured Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, who laid the foundation stone for the seaport, that the Centre would stand by the State for its development. “Don’t be hesitant. We will fight the elections. We want to develop Kerala. We will not discriminate between States. Our development policy is to ensure justice for all,” Mr. Gadkari added. Mr. Chandy, in his address, said the success of the seaport would not be confined to Vizhinjam and the capital. It would trigger development of the entire State and turn out to be an example to show that Kerala can achieve anything, he said.

The Chief Minister hoped that the Adani Group would complete the PPP project’s Phase I as promised within 1,000 days, on September 1, 2018. “There is no politics in development. We cannot wait anymore as we have lost 24 years. All should stand united for the completion of the project and should not forget the sacrifices made by the local people. We want development, economic growth and use of human potential for growth of home soil”.

Source: http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/cabotage-law-to-be-relaxed-for-vizhinjam/article7954017.ece