Shipping Corp may buy stake in proposed Vizhinjam Port

Reuters: State-run Shipping Corp of India proposes to buy a stake in a deepwater seaport at Vizhinjam, being planned by the Kerala Government near state capital Thiruvananthapuram, the Mint newspaper reported last week.

The investment would be in Vizhinjam International Seaport Ltd, a state-founded special purpose company to act as the nodal agency in building and running the port, the paper quoted Sanjeev Kaushik, Kerala’s Ports Secretary and Chief Executive Officer at the special purpose company, as saying.

The Kerala Government has already given an “in-principle approval to bring in SCI to invest in the superstructure and remain as a part-owner of the port,” the Mint quoted Kaushik as saying.

The investment amount has not yet been finalised, the paper said.

The Government recently said it would sell a 10 percent stake in Shipping Corp and the company will also issue a fresh equity of 10 percent. The Government expects the stake sale to generate 13 billion rupees.