Advocate-General gives advice on Vizhinjam

Advocate-General C.P. Sudhakara Prasad has advised the State government to probe whether any of the technically qualified bidders are interested in taking up the Vizhinjam International Container Transhipment Terminal project since the top bidder Lanco Kondappally Power Limited had withdrawn from the scene.

In his legal opinion on Wednesday, the Advocate-General said the government could ask the other qualified bidders whether they were willing to take up the project accepting the same terms as those offered by Lanco Kondappally in its bidding.

Two other consortiums had technically qualified in the bidding process last year: one lead by Videocon Industries and the other by Nagarjuna Construction. Mr. Sudh- akara Prasad said the government could go for a fresh inter national tender in case these two consortiums were unwilling to lower their bid offers to the level offered by the consortium that had backed out (because of a long delay in sorting out court disputes over the tender process).