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Vizhinjam terminal in 3 years: Minister M. Vijayakumar


Posted on 08 Sep 2007
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Work on the first phase of the Vizhinjam international container transhipment terminal will be completed in three years, Law Minister M. Vijayakumar has said.

Replying to questions in the Assembly on Friday, Mr.Vijayakumar said construction of the terminal was estimated to cost Rs.5,348 crore. The first phase was expected to cost Rs.2,390 crore. As many as 23 companies, including six foreign companies, secured tender forms for the project. The tender would be finalised in December, he said.

Transport Minister Mathew T. Thomas said the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation was incurring a daily loss of Rs.54 crore. The daily revenue is Rs.230 crore and expenditure Rs.284 crore. The debt of the corporation till March 31 is Rs.4.74 crore. Education Minister M.A. Baby said steps had been taken to lessen the weight of school bags. The textbooks for classes two, four, six, eight and SSLC will be divided into two sections and printed separately so that they will not have to carry all the books every day. Steps have been taken to distribute the textbooks on time. As many as 13 educational institutions in the State have got minority status. While the State granted the status to two institutions, 11 institutions secured the status from the national minority commission.

Source: The Hindu