Adani, Kerala to fast track Vizhinjam port completion with ₹20,000 crore investment

The Adani Group and Kerala Government have decided to fast-track implementation of all three remaining phases of India's first deep-sea transhipment port at Vizhinjam by around 17 years from the initial plan and will invest a total of ₹20,000 crore by 2028-29.

Vizhinjam port's 2nd to 4th phase will be completed by 2028, 17 years in advance from 2045, Pinarayi Vijayan, Chief Minister of Kerala announced at a function today to launch the first phase of the port and welcoming the arrival of the first mother ship.

''By 2028-29, when all four phases of this project are completed, the Kerala Government and Adani Vizhinjam Port will have invested a total of ₹20,000 crore in this large-scale PPP project'', says Karan Adani, Managing Director of Adani Ports & SEZ. 

In the ₹8,493 crore first phase, Adani Vizhinjam Port Private Limited (AVPPL) has constructed a 3,000-metre breakwater and 800-metre container berthing facility. On completion in four phases, the seaport may have the capacity to handle half of the container transhipment needs of India. Its capacity in phase 1 is one million TEUs and in subsequent phases, another 6.2 million TEUs will be added by 2028-29.

''This milestone marks India's entry into global transshipment and ushers in a new era in India's maritime logistics, positioning Vizhinjam as a key player in global trade routes'', Adani group chairman Gautam Adani tweeted on X.

Karan Adani says the port has installed South Asia’s most advanced container handling technology and after completion of the automation and the Vessel Traffic Management System in the first phase, Vizhinjam will be in a class of its own as one of the most technologically sophisticated transhipment ports in the world. ''Currently, no other port in India, including our own Mundra Port, have these technologies'', he says.

Vizhinjam, will not only facilitate the movement of trans-shipment traffic into India but the strategically located port will also play a pivotal role in handling traffic along major routes connecting India, such as traffic between the US, Europe Africa, and the Indian subcontinent as well as US, Europe, Africa and the Far East. Currently, 25% of India’s container traffic is transshipped en route to the destination. Until now, despite India’s rising trade with the world, the country does not have a dedicated transhipment port, resulting in three-fourths or 75% of India’s transshipped cargo being handled by ports outside India.