The Hindu : Front Page : Cabinet nod for Vizhinjam tenders

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Thursday, Jan 19, 2006

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Front Page

Cabinet nod for Vizhinjam tenders

Special Correspondent

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to inaugurate the project early next month

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Cabinet on Wednesday approved, in principle, the tenders submitted by a consortium of three companies for construction of the international transhipment terminal at Vizhinjam. The Rs.4,360-crore project would be taken up on a build, operate and transfer (BOT) basis.

Chief Minister Oommen Chandy told presspersons after the Cabinet meeting that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh would inaugurate the project during his visit to Kerala early next month. Dr. Singh would also lay the foundation stone for the Kozhikode Dream City Project, which had been converted into an eco-tourism project. The Cabinet had given its approval for that project also.

The successful bidders for the Vizhinjam project were Kaidi Electrical Power Company of China, Harbour Engineering Company of China and Zoom Developers Private Limited, Mumbai. The terms of their consortium were found to be advantageous to the State, he said.

The Government would get the terminal back after 30 years without any liabilities.

The Chief Minister said that the revision of pay scales of employees and teachers would be implemented with effect from March this year. The report of the Pay Revision Commission would be obtained next month itself. Mr. Chandy urged a section of the employees, who proposed to go on strike on January 24 protesting against delay in effecting pay revision, to call off their strike plan. "The Government is committed to pay revision. This is an assurance I am giving on behalf of the Government," Mr. Chandy said.

He said that eight wings of the Home Department would be excluded from the purview of provisions of the Right to Information Act on supply of information to the public. These were Special Branch CID, Crime Branch CID, district-level special branches, Crime Records Bureau, police telecommunication units, police confidential branches, forensic laboratories and the Finger Print Bureau.

He said that the distribution of 25 kg rice at Rs.3 a kg to poor families would begin on February 1. A total of 20.42 lakh families would be getting the benefit of the programme, including 5.95 families already covered under the Andyodaya Annapoorna Yojana.

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