Vizhinjam Transshipment Terminal project is likely to end up in another mess with reports that the Lanco Group, which has won the bidding to implement the project, had landed in great financial crisis.

There were reports that the group was finding it extremely difficult to negotiate the current dismal environment it was undergoing. Lack of adequate response from buyers to the group’s proposed Rs 5,500-crore residential project was one of the reasons.

The reluctance of bankers and private equity players to provide additional funds was the other reason cited.

The deal signed between the state government and the Lanco Group had raised many eyebrows with P C George MLA demanding a judicial inquiry into the deal.

Following the development, when ‘Express’ tried to contact the Lanco authorities, no one was available for comment. The repeated attempts also turned futile as the company authorities tried to evade queries.

Law Minister M Vijayakumar, who is in charge of the ports, told to The New Indian Express that though there were certain media reports about the Lanco Group’s predicament, the government had not received any official communication from any authorities or a word from the company about the crisis.

“In fact, the company has been positive about the project and is keen to go ahead with the project. If anything goes wrong in future, the government will take corrective steps to safeguard the project and its successful implementation,” the Minister said. Vizhinjam International Seaport Ltd CEO L Radhakrishnan said that the company had not come across any official information on the financial crisis of the Lanco Group.

“As of now, the company has taken effective steps to commence the works once the case filed by the Vizhinjam International Seaport challenging an order of the Kerala High Court gets settled,” he said.

The Vizhinjam International had filed a special leave petition in the Supreme Court challenging an order of the Kerala High Court which set aside the decision of the Bid-Evaluation Committee wherein it declared the bid submitted by M/s Zoom Developers Pvt Ltd as non-responsive.

The Zoom Developers had been in close race with the Lanco Group to bag the project.

Author : Ajay Kanth
expressbuzz . com