Trivandrum: The Vizhijam International Seaport is all set to formally welcome the first ship on October 15, 2023. Chief Minister, Shri Pinarayi Vijayan and Union Minister of Shipping, Shri Sarbananda Sonowal will be present on the occasion. This was disclosed by Rajesh Jha, MD & CEO of Adani Vizhinjam Port while interacting with the media here today.
Located in Vizhijam, on the outskirts of Thiruvananthapuram, Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Limited (APSEZ) is developing this deep-sea water port as India’s first Mega Transhipment Container Terminal. The Vizhinjam seaport is owned by the Government of Kerala and will be operated and maintained by the Adani Group for 40 years.
A Chinese ship carrying cranes arrived at Vizhinjam International Seaport on Oct 12. The massive ship Zhen-Hua had left the shores of China in August. The ship, which reached the outer waters of Vizhinjam yesterday was given a traditional water salute.
“The journey to construct the port has not been simple, with several challenges along the way. Despite the odds, the development of the first phase of the port is nearing completion, and it will provide a boost to Kerala’s economy. The first phase of the Vizhinjam Port Limited is all set to be completed by May 2024. Its capacity in phase 1 is planned to be 6,00,000 TEUs in the first phase ramping up to 3 million TEUs will be added. The port is expected to be made fully operational for commercial use between May and December 2024.”, he added.
The world-class, future-ready port will be the only transhipment hub in the Indian subcontinent, closest to the international shipping routes, and is centrally located on the Indian coastline. Vizhinjam Port will offer large-scale automation for quick turnaround of vessels with state-of-the-art infrastructure to handle Megamax containerships.