P.K. Sreemathi, MP, has urged Finance Minister T.M. Thomas Isaac to earmark adequate funds in the State Budget for the development of the Azhikkal port here as envisaged in the master plan.
The MP in a representation to the Minister said that the development of the Azhikkal port, one of the natural ports in the State, would lead to the development of the entire North Malabar region. She said that the works for acquiring land for the port’s development had already been completed. Construction of the 226-metre wharf and a road to the port had also been completed, she said adding that the works for deepening the channel and basin of the port had also been finished.
No follow-up works
Though a detailed project report for the development of the port had been prepared by Deloitte India Private Ltd. and approved by the previous Left Democratic Front government, follow-up works could not be carried out because of lack of adequate funds, she said in the representation. Union Minister for Surface Transport Nithin Gadkari in a letter last year had promised to include the port works under the Central government’s Sagarmala scheme as and when the first phase works for the operation of smaller vessels with four or five metre drafts were completed, she said, calling on Dr. Isaac to allocate funds for the port’s first phase development.
