Adani Port; Construction work to speed up to meet deadlines

The local administration said on Wednesday, one week after four months of protests at the construction site, that work on a $900 million port being built by India's Adani Group in the state of Kerala will be accelerated to meet a September 2023 deadline.

Following a meeting between Adani Ports Chief Executive Rajesh Jha and local authorities, the state government said that additional barges would be pushed into action, the amount of granite being consumed for the project would be doubled, and additional machinery would be brought in. Construction on the port site in the coastal town of Vizhingam in the southern Indian state was halted after protesters from a predominantly Christian adjoining community said it would lead to soil erosion that would threaten their way of life.

More than 100 people were hurt in clashes between police and protesters in November, including 64 police officers. Last Monday, protest leaders declared that they had reached a compromise with the state government and would temporarily halt their protest.

The Adani group, which is paying for a third of the project's expenses with the Kerala state and the Indian federal governments footing the remaining costs, has claimed that the port conforms with all legal requirements and has provided studies to support this claim.

The state administration of Kerala has also said that any erosion was brought on by natural factors. Both India and Asia's richest man, Gautam Adani, value the port strategically. When finished, it will be India's first hub for container transhipment, potentially competing with Sri Lanka, Singapore, and Dubai for commerce along lucrative east-west trade routes.