The Rs 4,360-crore Vizhinjam deepwater container transshipment hub project has been in the news for long now. With the LDF Government in Kerala deciding to go in for fresh tenders for the project, the proceedings have reached a full circle.

It was in December 2005 that the State Cabinet cleared a consortium, comprising two Chinese companies _ China Harbour Engineering Company and Kaidi Electric Power Company _ and the Mumbai-based Zoom Developers Pvt Ltd, for the project. It had submitted the proposal to the Centre the next month.

The Centre informed the State that the project has been denied clearance in a one-line missive in August 2006. The missive raised suspicions not only because the Centre chose not to give any specific reason for the decision but also that it sat on the proposal for six months!

In the meantime, an all-party delegation led by Chief Minister V.S.Achuthanandan and Opposition leader Oommen Chandy had met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to press for a review. The Centre sticking to its stand even after four months has only helped in making the denial of security clearance to the project curiouser.

Now, the project assumes significance as Vizhinjam has a natural draught of 20 metres. Moreover, it is just 10 nautical miles away the International Shipping Lanes. In the long run, the Vizhinjam port _ along with its twin at Vallarpadam _ is expected to have a crucial say in the container cargo movement in Southeast Asia. That the region is already witnessing a boom in the cargo movement only made matters worse. The project as such was expected to go on steam in 2010.

It is presumed that the presence of Chinese companies in the consortium that bagged the project had prompted the Central decision. It’s debatable whether such security considerations are relevant in this era of globalisation.

However, the decision opened up a forum for rumour-mongers. Even Union Minister for Shipping T.R.Balu was not spared from the rumours. The ongoing projects at Colachel and Trichy only added colour to the stories.

It was against this backdrop that an all-party meeting convened by Achuthanandan decided to go in for fresh tenders. This time around, the participants are more cautious. The Federation of Residents’ Associations, Thiruvananthapuram, has even launched a website for the project.