Kerala approves plan for new fishing harbour at Vizhinjam

The Kerala government has granted in-principle administrative sanction for construction of a new fishing harbour at Vizhinjam. The project includes the harbour and a breakwater intended to improve the stability of the entrance to the existing Vizhinjam fishing harbour. According to a government order issued on Saturday, the first phase will be implemented under Article 16 of the concession agreement between the state government and Adani Vizhinjam Port Private Limited.

The project follows an environmental and Coastal Regulation Zone clearance issued by the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change for Phase I of the Vizhinjam International Seaport Project. The clearance required an additional fish landing centre for the fishing community. The government order says the new harbour is therefore a specific commitment connected to the environmental clearance.

Its construction has been included as a funded work under the concession agreement and will be undertaken by the concessionaire as part of its contractual obligations. The proposed design was informed by physical wave model studies conducted by the Central Water and Power Research Station. The studies followed concerns raised by fishing communities and the Harbour Engineering department about tranquillity conditions at the existing harbour entrance after construction of the seaport breakwater.

Based on the studies, the CWPRS recommended a revised configuration for the fishing harbour. The state subsequently approved implementation of the revised harbour package, identified as Package I, through AVPPL under the funded-works provisions of the concession agreement. The approved package includes a 235-metre breakwater, a 500-metre L-shaped fishery berth and associated ancillary facilities.

The source material does not provide a construction timetable, project cost or details of the facilities beyond those components. The sanction places the harbour work within the contractual framework for the Vizhinjam port project and links it to the clearance requirement for an additional fish landing centre. The stated objective is to provide the new harbour while addressing concerns about the effect of port-related breakwater construction on the existing fishing harbour entrance.