fits this description of the old fort. In fact the port at Vizhinjam has been mentioned in the work `The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea', a work of the first century AD. Here Vizhinjam has been called as Balita," said Dr. Ajit. The Portuguese and the Dutch had commercial establishments here. The Portuguese have built a church in Vizhinjam near to the sea shore, which is still functional and is referred as the Old Vizhinjam Church (Old St. Mary's Church). It is located in the vizhinjam fishing harbour area. As per historians, Vizhinjam, located at the extreme south-western tip of South Asia, served as an important port throughout the history of the region. The location is economically and geopolitically significant as a key point connecting the shipping between Southeast Asia and the Middle East. An international port at Vizhinjam was conceived as early as 1991. In August 2015, the Kerala government and Adani Vizhinjam Port (AVPL), representing the Adani Group, signed the agreement for the Adani Vizhinjam project. AVPL was the only bidder for the project. As per the details of the agreement, Adani Group is free to operate the Vizhinjam port for 40 years (extendable by 20 more years). The Kerala state government will start getting a portion of the revenue from the port after 15 years. The project also includes 360 acres of land (of which around 36% are reclaimed from the sea) and a railway line (around 10 km long). The deadline for the commission of Phase I, Adani Vizhinjam Port was fixed on 4 December 2019 in the 2015 agreement. The entire Vizhinjam project was valued at around Rs. 75.25 billion. The AVPL had requested a Rs 16.35 billion grant for the project from the Kerala state government. The project commenced on 5 December 2015. AVPL had announced that the "first ship will berth at Vizhinjam" on 1 September 2018 (the 1,000 days target). The AVPL is currently seeking an extension of the Phase I commission deadline to October 2020 from the Kerala government. As per a Reuters report, China had also wanted to partner with an un-named Indian company to build the port, but its overture was rejected by New Delhi on grounds of national security. It is speculated that the port will have berths for India's navy and coastguard. Public Protests There were large scale public protests against the controversial Adani controlled port and