Vizhinjam Motherport Action Samithi, a society campaigning for the container transhipment port proposed to be built at Vizhinjam near here, has contested the arguments of those who oppose the project citing its ‘unviability.’

In a statement here on Sunday, the forum said its representative, along with a representative of Thiruvananthapuram Development Front (another organisation which supports the project), had recently met top officials of the Union Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF) and members of the Expert Appraisal Committee presently considering the question of according environmental clearance for the project.

“We met the chairman of the Expert Appraisal Committee and convinced him that the statistics and arguments put forth by those who oppose the project are baseless and exaggerated,” forum secretary Wilfred Kulas said.

He said it was preposterous to content that the proposed port would experience heavy siltation during the monsoon each year. Another contention before the Expert Appraisal Committee by the detractors of the project was that strong winds might adversely affect the operations of the port. He said the hollowness of both arguments was convincingly presented before the members on the committee.