The upcoming International seaport of Kerala – Vizhinjam Port which has been under development by Adani Ports since 2015 will be made fully operational by December 2024, promises Rajesh Jha, CEO of Adani Vizhinjam Port Company in a press conference on Thursday.
In May 2023, the first phase of construction at the port will be completed, following which operations at the port will start on a trial basis. The commission will follow soon and then it won’t take long for cargo ships to reach Vizhinjam port.
Upon operationalization, Vizhinjam will be crowned as India’s only port capable of anchoring even the world’s largest cargo ship. The co-development of the state and mostly the capital city will further aid the port and add to an upward surge. The capacity of the port will be 1.5 million TEU in the first phase. The cap increased by 2.5 million TEUs in the second phase and 3 million TEUs in the third phase.
There will be 32 cranes in the first phase for cargo movement. This includes eight shore cranes and 24-yard cranes.
The construction Port on Thursday welcomed its first cargo vessel a Chinese Cargo ship named Zhen Hua 15. The Cargo ship carried a shore crane and 2-yard cranes to the state coast and received a ‘water salute’ from the tug boats. The vessel which will reach the dock at the Vizhinjam port on October 14, commenced its journey from Gujarat’s Mundra Port last week. However, the typhoon at the Shanghai and Vietnam coasts delayed the vessel. According to News9, the freighter kicked off its journey from China at the end of August.
The vessel will be officially received by the Minister for Ports, shipping and Waterways, Sarbananda Sonowal, and Kerala Chief Minister, Pinarayi Vijayan at a ceremony held at Vizhinjam on October 15. According to media reports, four tugs have been brought to the international seaport to bring the ship.
Following the Zhen Hua 15, the port is expecting to dock three more ships at the dock.
The Vizhinjam Seaport will function primarily as a transhipment port, where 90% of the containers arriving in motherships will be transshipped to smaller ships and delivered to their destination. The remaining 10% will be sent by road and rail. In the future, the seaport will also welcome domestic containers.
On operationalization, the port will give direct employment to 650 people and 5,000 people will also be benefitted. A detailed plan for the railway to the port has been completed and the same was submitted for environmental clearance by the Government. The construction of the 1.75 km road to the port will be completed next year.
