Thiruvananthapuram, Aug 18 (PTI) Keralam Chief Minister V D Satheesan on Tuesday accused the previous LDF government of not fulfilling many of the obligations related to the Vizhinjam port and asserted that the UDF administration will complete them soon.

Satheesan, addressing a press conference here, contended that had rail and road connectivity been ensured, then the gains from the export-import (EXIM) operations, which commenced on Tuesday, at the port would have been 100 times more than what it will be now.

"Under the Vizhinjam concession agreement, the government has a lot of obligations, including ensuring road and rail connectivity to the port. During the last 10 years, the LDF government did not even move at the pace of a tortoise to ensure that," he said.

He said that the UDF government, right after coming to power, decided to grant Rs 3,000 crore for acquiring land for the Rs 15,000 crore ring road project.

Regarding the rail connectivity, the state government has discussed it with the ministries of Ports, Railways and Surface Transport and will soon announce a timeframe for completing it, the CM said.

He also rejected reports that Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal was absent from the event over the Vande Mataram issue, saying that the central minister could not come due to some urgent last-minute official work.

When reporters asked why the opposition was absent from the event, he said, "You will have to ask them that. How would I know?" Satheesan also referred to the government's ambitious 'Mission Samudra' project, saying that it will help to transform the state into a port city by connecting the Cochin port and 18 other mini ports in Keralam to Vizhinjam, which is a "gateway" close to the international shipping route.

He said that the commencement of the EXIM operations at Vizhinjam now offers the opportunity to export the indigenous goods of the state at lower costs and time and therefore, "we need to make effective use of it as much as possible".

The EXIM operations and Mission Samudra were inaugurated by the CM earlier in the day.

On queries regarding the Vizhinjam port share transfer issue, Satheesan said that the government had conveyed its displeasure to the Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ) for not informing it about the transaction prior to sending the details to the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI).

"The very next day they sent a letter explaining that it was not a deliberate act and they had only followed the same procedure they had adopted in Gujarat. They also apologised for it," he claimed.

APSEZ had in June announced that Switzerland-based Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), the world's largest shipping and logistics group, would acquire a 49 per cent stake in Adani Vizhinjam Port Private Limited (AVPPL) for about USD 1.4 billion, allegedly before informing the government about the transaction.

Satheesan also said that the government was taking steps to expedite the national highway (NH) construction process.

"I have taken part in detailed discussions with officials of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) regarding each section of the NH construction, and the same are continuing under the leadership of the chief secretary on Tuesday and Wednesday to expedite the work," he said.

He also said that the government has collected details of the sections where work is slow or has problems, or where complaints have been received from the public and these have been placed before the NHAI.

"We will take steps to complete the construction work as fast as possible," he said. PTI HMP ADB