THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Minister for Ports V. Surendran Pillai has said that it will be possible to commence work on the first stage of the deepwater container transhipment project at Vizhinjam by the second week of March this year.

In a press release here on Tuesday, he said work related to roads, rail link, power supply and water supply to the project area was progressing as per schedule. Steps to rehabilitate the people who had to be moved from the area also were in progress.

Large Indian infrastructure companies such as GMR, GVK and Reliance, in addition to consortiums of foreign companies from Turkey, the United Kingdom and Australia, are among the 14 entities that have submitted Request for Qualification (RFQ) to undertake the work on the project.

After short-listing the RFQs, Vizhinjam International Seaports Limited would call for Request for Proposals by January 25. An evaluation committee would examine the technical bids and financial bids and select the entity that would undertake the project's first stage.