THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The first sand consignment in one-and-a-half years has arrived at the Vizhinjam Port. The dhow MSV Seaking docked on Monday morning bringing construction sand for a private firm inKarunagappally.According to Port officials, the cargo consisted of 150 tonnes of sand and was shipped from Mangalore. ‘’The cargo was meant for Aishwarya Traders, Karunagappally,’’ a port official said. Two more ships are expected in the days ahead at Vizhinjam bringing sand to the state, he said. Sand imports were a much debated issue some years ago after the state witnessed an acute shortage. It coincided with the construction boom in the smaller towns as well as bigger cities like Thirvananthapuram. A few consignments had even been shipped in from states like Gujarat. However, real estate developers and builders here say that there is no shortage of sand as such or a sudden spurt in demand at present. Many developers have already switched over to M-Sand, and shipping in sand from elsewhere can prove to be a costly affair. ‘’Unless the cost of sand from where you source it is affordable, sand imports may not prove viable when you calculate the transportation costs, shipping charges and unloading fee,’’ says S N Raghuchandran Nair, secretary general - Kerala, Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Association of India (CREDAI) and managing director, SI Properties.
Comments
0 comment