A team of officials from Housing and Urban Development Corporation (HUDCO) visited the site proposed for the Vizhinjam International Seaport near here on Thursday, preparatory to submitting a proposal before the company's board for supporting the project with an assistance of Rs.500 crore.

The team, comprising R. K. Singh from the company's Project Division, Lalit Singla from Finance Division and Thiruvananthapuram chief V. Thirumavalavan, also had discussions with top functionaries of Vizhinjam International Seaport Limited (VISL), the government undertaking constituted to execute the ambitious project of the State Government.

HUDCO officials said the final decision on the Rs.500-crore lending to VISL would be taken at the company's board meeting later this month. VISL would be developing the basic infrastructure of the port, conceived along the landlord model. In addition to Rs.500 crore from HUDCO, VISL is looking for Rs.300 crore from the Life Insurance Corporation of India. VISL had already discussed the matter with the LIC.

VISL is also approaching a consortium of banks, led by State Bank of Travancore, for mobilising a further amount of Rs.300 crore for the project. Moves are also afoot to raise a sum of Rs.800 crore through government bonds, VISL Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer A. S. Suresh Babu said.

Mr. Suresh Babu said VISL was moving matters in such a way as to ensure the mobilisation of the entire finance by July.